E-Financial
Keystone Bank Bags Two Awards at International Banker Awards
Keystone Bank Limited, Africa’s most innovative banking service provider shone brightly at the International Banker Awards, 2018 as the lender emerged winner in two categories beating other nominees and carting away the prize for “Africa’s Best Customer Service Provider” and “Nigeria’s Most Innovative Retail Bank of the year, 2018”.
The International Banker Awards is an annual event organized by the renowned International Banker financial magazine, one of the world’s leading sources of authoritative analysis on finance, international banking, and world affairs. The awards were established to recognize top-ranking individuals and organizations setting new benchmarks for performance and pushing the boundaries within the financial industry.
Winners are voted for by the magazine’s readership and a jury comprising financial journalists. They take account of not only growth, liquidity position and profitability of a company, but also innovation, technology, corporate governance, sustainability and transparency.
According to Mr. Simon Hughes of the International Banker Magazine, “we depend on nominations from our readers to locate the worthiest financial institutions around the world, the banks that are not just doing their jobs well but exceptionally well, that are in effect operating on the cutting edge of the industry and setting new levels of performance to which others in the field will aspire”.
“The size of the bank is not as important as the size of its impact; therefore, banks in countries from North and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia, the Middle East and Africa are recognized for offering what top-of-the-line banks provide: much-needed capital for economic growth, cutting-edge innovation to improve security and efficiency, intelligent investing to maximize profits and shareholder value.”
“And I am happy to announce to you that Keystone Bank has demonstrated these qualities, hence, the recognition”. Hughes said.
Receiving the awards on behalf of the Bank at the London Stock Exchange studio, recently, the Group Managing Director/CEO, Keystone Bank Limited, Mr. Obeahon Ohiwerei, dedicated the feat to the customers, whose loyalty, support and patronage he said has remained the fountain of the bank’s growth and competitive edge in the African continent.
“This recognition speaks volumes. It validates the strong management, staff commitment to service excellence, sound business model and prudent risk management of Keystone Bank” Ohiwerei said.
Ohiwerei further stressed that the awards were a lucid indication that the initiatives being implemented by the Bank particularly as it relates to enhancing service delivery are yielding the desired result.
Since its recent acquisition by Sigma Golf – Riverbank consortium, Keystone Bank, a technology and service-driven commercial bank, offering tailor-made convenient and reliable solutions to customer’s needs has been on upward swing.
E-Financial
Nigerians Pay Five Levies for Electronic Transactions
A bank customer in Nigeria pays as much as five different charges electronic transactions on one account and Netizens are not happy about it.
Only on Monday, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), added another 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy to be charged on select bank transactions.
However, the apex bank exempted loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, and intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank from the levy.
Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, and Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings, and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.
But below is the list of charges Nigerians have to pay whenever they make electronic transfers.
- Cybersecurity levy
N5 is charged on the transaction of N1,000
N50 is charged on the transaction of N10,000
N500 is charged on the transaction of N100,000
N5,000 is charged on the transaction of N1,000,000
N50,000 is charged on the transaction of N10,000,000
- Transfer fee
N10 is being charged on the transaction below N5,000
N25 is being charged on the transaction between 5,001 and N50,000
N50 is being charged on transactions above N50,000
- Stamp duties
N50 is being charged on transactions between N10,000 and N10,000,000
- Short Messaging Service (SMS)
N4 is being charged on each electronic transfer notification
(Customers who use e-mail-only notification are not charged for this service)
- Value Added Tax (VAT)
N0.75 is being charged on the N10 transfer fee
N1.875 is being charged on the N25 transfer fee
N3.75 is being charged on the N50 transfer fee.
E-Financial
AMMBAN Decries CBN Directive on CAC Registration of PoS Operators
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.
E-Financial
UBA Consolidates Gains as Gross Earnings Rise by 110 Percent, Profit Hits N156Bn
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.
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.
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