Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) has frowned at the recent directive by Central Bank of Nigeria that Point of Sale terminal operators should register with Corporate Affairs Commission by July 7, 2024.

They argued that implementing the directive will put over 70 percent of PoS operators out of business thereby frustrating financial inclusion initiative of the federal government.

Mr. Fasasi Atanda, national president, AMMBAN, said that the directive contradicts the current CBN agent banking regulations which clearly allow individuals to be onboarded as agents under the sub-agent category.

“Currently Nigeria has over 1.8 million agents in which over 70 percent are sub-agents without registered businesses, operating under agent network – super agent arrangements. They are the most penetrating channel of financial inclusion. Now, we want to eliminate them with CAC registration,” he stated.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government through the Corporate Affairs Commission on Monday issued a two-month registration deadline to Point of Sales companies, to register their agents, merchants, and individuals with the commission in line with legal requirements and the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Fintechs and the Registrar-General CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, in Abuja.

Speaking at the meeting, the CAC boss said the measure aims at safeguarding the businesses of Fintech’s customers and strengthening the economy.

He further stressed that the action was equally backed by Section 863, Subsection 1 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020 as well as the 2013 CBN guidelines on agent banking.

The CAC boss said the timeline for the registration, which will expire on July 7, 2024, was not targeted at any groups or individuals but genuinely aimed at providing protection for businesses.

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Africa’s Global Bank , has released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2024, showing very strong growth across key performance measures.

Oliver Alawuba, GMD, UBA Group

The Group’s results, which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Friday May 3rd, 2024, saw outstanding year-on-year increases: Gross Earnings rose by 110%, from N271.1billion to N570.2 billion; Interest Income grew by 130%, to N440.7 billion. Operating Income increased by 115%, from N175.7 billion in 2023, to N378.59 billion.

Further consolidating the record performance delivered in the Group’s 2023 Full Year Audited Financials, UBA again saw Profit Before Tax rising significantly by 155% from N61.7 billion in Q1 2023, to N156.34 billion in Q1 2024; while Profit After Tax jumped from N53.5 billion to N142.5 billion, representing an impressive rise of 165% year-on-year.

Commenting on the results, Oliver Alawuba, group managing director,  UBA, said the Group delivered strong first quarter performance, building on the solid momentum of 2023, as well as the ongoing execution of its long-held strategy of customer focus, geographic diversification and effective risk management and governance.

He said, “Our record Q1 profit before tax was delivered with triple digit gross earnings growth, supported by very strong interest and non-interest income. Fees and Commissions rose by 118% year-on-year on the back of improved efficiencies and continued digital adoption. This has helped drive improvement in efficiency and customer satisfaction, with the Group’s cost-to-income ratio held at 57.8%.”

“The Group’s balance sheet grew steadily with Total Assets increasing by 23% to N25.4 trillion. Customer deposits closed at N18.4 trillion, recording a 23% increase year-on-year, largely attributed to growth in current accounts and savings accounts.”

“Our unwavering commitment to sound governance, robust risk management, and financial strength positions us for continued growth, while we contribute meaningfully to inclusive economic development across our network.”

Also speaking on the performance, Ugo Nwaghodoh,  executive director, Finance and Risk, said the Group’s operating results for the quarter showed the actions taken to enhance the Group’s performance continued to deliver.

He said, “Our first quarter results highlight our relentless customer focus and the strength of UBA’s geographic and product diversification, with good performance across all our regions. We continue to differentiate ourselves across all key financial metrics, with a keen focus on high-quality risk adjusted revenues and cost discipline, while maintaining very sound asset quality.“

“We remain committed to reducing both interest expense and operating expenses and expect to make steady progress as we move through the year toward our stated profitability targets,” Nwaghodoh stated.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-five million customers , across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries and across 4 continents.

With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and the United Arab Emirates , UBA connects people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that it will go all out to act decisively to uphold the integrity of the capital market and protect the interests of all investors.

This is in a bid to rid the capital market space of illegal trading activities.

This was stated by Dr Emomotimi Agama, acting director general of the SEC, during a virtual meeting with the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), the umbrella body of all major blockchain and cryptocurrency Associations in Nigeria.

Agama stated that the SEC Nigeria will not hesitate to utilize all the powers within its mandate to handle issues that are negative and pose a threat to national interest saying that the Commission has come as a partner to seek collaboration in making sure that the capital market community is respected globally for decency and fair play.

The SEC boss said the recent concerns regarding crypto P2P traders and their perceived impact on the exchange rate of the Naira has underscored the need for collective action and dialogue within the financial market ecosystem.

He said “There are basic practices as enshrined in the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and we expect that everyone will abide by those rules. Some may say no rules to play by, but do not forget that we have the Investments and Securities Act 2007 that some actions by participants today may be violating, hence the law is the law irrespective of the technology used.

“However, for specific Digital Asset regulatory regime that many have been calling for, we want to assure you that we are working tirelessly to establish an accommodating regulatory guideline for digital assets. The SEC as your regulator is desirous to work with you by providing a level of assurance that is needed by all that are operating within the rules of the market”.

The DG stated that the proposed regulatory guidelines which are currently being fine-tuned with suggestions by various stakeholders, will encompass various activities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem ranging from Wallet providers, digital asset custodians and fund managers, Cryptocurrency Crowdfunding, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token Offerings (STOs), Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs), Cryptocurrency Exchange platform providers, Virtual Asset brokerage services etc., ensuring that every Nigerian playing within the industry with the potential to contribute to economic progress is included, supported and properly regulated.

“I am poised for an innovative digital asset regulatory regime that will sustain Nigeria as Africa’s Digital Asset Powerhouse with diverse solutions like Real World Asset Tokenization (RWA) that will drive wealth and catalyse our capital market. We must explore innovative solutions to this problem and strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding our national economic interests. This we will do in afriendly and firm manner, to enable us to achieve the desired result”.

“We have a great market ahead of us and we have the talents and the people to make the market great.  Mr President is concerned about the teeming youths involved in this space and would encourage them to do the right thing and develop an ecosystem that we all will be proud of. It becomes necessary that we do what is right. Manipulations and all forms of activities that undermine our national interest would not be acceptable. It is therefore very important that we know that the SEC by Section 13 of the ISA speaks to the regulation of all capital market activities.”

Agama expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (Biccon) the umbrella body of all major blockchain and cryptocurrency Associations in Nigeria, and assured them of the commission’s readiness to work closely with all stakeholders in the cryptocurrency ecosystem to create a better country for all of us.

“With our deep understanding of this industry and the cryptocurrency sub-sector, we recognize the importance of collaboration and cooperation in addressing the challenges we face; hence your insights and suggestions are invaluable as we seek to navigate these complexities together. We need your support as much as you need ours.

“On that note, I want to emphasize that we are working on different fronts to sustain decent practices within our market, however, we are here to meet ourselves to know those playing within the sector decently and are open to hearing your suggestions on how we can effectively manage all obscure cryptocurrency trading activities within our jurisdiction p2p inclusive irrespective of the challenge we all know that p2p trading posses.

We must explore innovative solutions to this problem and strike the right balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding our national economic interests. This we will do in a friendly and firm manner, to enable us to achieve the desired result.

Agama stated that one of the things that need to be done is delisting the naira from the P2P space to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening enjoining participants in the crypto space to be patriotic enough to name and shame those that are involved in disrupting the markets negatively.

“I want to seek your co-operation in dealing with this as we roll out in the coming days the regulations that would take control of these areas. We want to ensure that this management will ensure that people or institutions that require registration with the SEC are quickly licenced. We assure you that we will give guidance when necessary and do well to streamline the processes to make it less difficult.

“We ask that those involved in sharp practices that undermine national interest should cease. It is in our interest as a people to protect what belongs to us. We encourage you to reach out to us by naming and shaming the bad actors. Together, I am confident that we can weed out bad actors and harness the immense potential of this progressive technology for the benefit of all Nigerians in tandem with this government’s renewed hope agenda” he added.

In his remarks, Dr Babatunde Oghenobruche Obrimah, chairman of the Fintech Association of Nigeria  commended the director general for his bold steps and the relationship with the ecosystem and pledged their commitment to work with the DG  and granted him all the support that will help him succeed in sanitizing the virtual ecosystem.

On their part, BICCoN requested the setting up of a working group to tackle the various challenges facing the crypto space in a bid to move the market forward.