E-Financial
Banks Get 3 Years to Implement Data Centre Standard
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given money deposit banks in the country till 2017 to adopt tier 3 data centre standard, a global standard based on availability specifications for data centres, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.
The timelime has been greeted with cheers but some renowned technology experts have said that it was difficult for any bank or telecommunications operator to meet that standard in the country and urged them to consider outsourcing.
The adoption timeline was contained in a report conducted for CBN by Accenture on IT standard for banks obtained exclusively by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.
The report was based on responses of 15 banks which include: Access, Citibank, Diamond, FCMB, First Bank, GTB, Keystone, Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, Sterling, UBA, Union, MainStreet and Wema Bank.
According to the report only five banks have completed the implementation of tier 3 standard of their data centres, while another five have their implementation ongoing. Yet another five are yet to commence the process of implementation.
The report also revealed that for TIA 942 standard, only three banks have completed their implementation; seven banks are yet to commence implementation process while four banks have their implementation ongoing.
TIA 942 Standard for data centres is a telecommunications standard that specifies requirements for telecommunications infrastructure and facilities of data centres.
Although, the report did not name the banks that fall in each category of the implementation, it however noted that implementing the data centre standards to the agreed tier will improve the uptime and availability of banks’ data centres which will in turn improve service availability and reduce the risk of down time.
On the scope of adoption, the report stated that ‘this standard shall be applicable to all banks and external (managed) service providers in the financial services industry.
All data centre infrastructure and facilities for the Nigerian FS industry shall satisfy the requirement for tier three’.
James Agada, chief technology officer, Computer Warehouse Group, said that the tier 3 standard prescriptions for banks to adopt was good but said it would be difficult for any bank or telecommunications operator to meet that standard in the country.
Nodding in agreement Amanda Haley, a technology strategist said that the specification of tier 3 data centre is too big and not realistic for banks to adopt.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that one of the criteria of tier 3 data centre is the ability to have two different links of the national power grid.
This is not realistic in Nigeria with only one national power grid.
Agada urged banks to outsource the standard which will allow them to host their servers and other storage facilities at data centre of third party operator mostly telecommunications operators that have what it takes to run a data centre effectively.
But Agada and Haley warned that such outsourcing model for data centres should not be driven by regulatory fiat but economic value.
E-Financial
Fidelity Bank Reports N124.3Bn Pre-Tax Profit for 2023
Fidelity Bank Plc has recorded a profit before tax of N124.3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023, indicating a 131.5 per cent increase from N53.7 billion posted in the 2022 financial year.
The bank disclosed this in its 2023 full year audited financial statement issued to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) on Tuesday in Lagos.
Fidelity Bank said it would also pay investors a final dividend of 60k per share and a total dividend of 85 kobo per share for the reporting period.
This represents a 70 per cent increase compared to the 50 kobo per share paid to its shareholders in the previous year.
The financial institution stated that this led to an increase in return on average equity of 26.5 per cent in the year under review from 15.6 per cent in the corresponding year.
According to the financial statement, the bank’s gross earnings increased by 64.9 per cent year over year to N555.83 billion.
The bank stated that this was driven by 81.6 per cent growth in net interest income which increased from N152.7 billion in year 2022 to N277.37 billion in the 2023 financial year.
This led to a profit after tax of N99.45 billion, representing a 112.9 per cent annual growth.
Commenting on the performance, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, managing director of Fidelity Bank, said the financial institution closed the financial year with strong double-digit growth across key income and balance-sheet lines.
Ms Onyeali-Ikpe stated that the bank’s performance in 2023 was an attestation of its capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders despite the difficulties in our operating environment.
She said, “A review of the financial performance showed that the bank grew its net interest income by 81.6 per cent to N277.4 billion. This was driven by a 55.5 per cent increase in interest income, thus reflecting a steady rise in asset yield throughout the year.
“The average funding cost dropped by 20bps to 4.4 per cent due to increased low-cost funds that grew from 83.6 per ent in 2022 to 97.4 per cent in 2023.
“The combination of higher asset yield and lower funding cost led to an increase in net interest margin of 8.1 per cent from 6.3 per cent in 2022 financial year.”
According to her, the total customer deposits crossed the N4 trillion mark, as deposits grew by 55.6 per cent from N2.6 trillion in 2022.
She noted that the increase was driven by 81.1 per cent growth in low-cost funds.
Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe explained that despite the challenging operating environment, the bank reaffirmed its devotion to helping individuals grow and inspiring businesses to thrive.
She said the bank also committed to empowering economies to prosper by increasing net loans and advances to N3.1 trillion from N2.1 trillion in the 2022 financial year.
The managing director stated that despite the growth in its loan portfolio, regulatory ratios were maintained well above the required thresholds.
Mrs Onyeali-Ikpe noted that the bank liquidity ratio stood at 45.3 per cent in the year ended 2023, from 39.6 per cent in the year 2022, while the capital adequacy ratio rose to 16.2 per cent, compared to the minimum requirement of 15.0 per cent.
“We recognise the changing dynamics in the Nigerian banking space and the need to monitor and proactively manage evolving risks. The proposed final dividend of 60 kobo per share reflects our commitment to strong value creation and returns to our shareholders.
“Fidelity Bank has consistently paid dividends since 2006,” she said.
E-Financial
ClaimBuddy Bags $5m to Streamline Insurance Claims for Hospitals, Patients
ClaimBuddy, insurancetech startup has raised $5 million in its Series A funding round led by Bharat Innovation Fund (BIF), with participation from Japanese VC firm CAC Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and Rebright Partners.
The Delhi NCR-based startup plans to utilize the capital to enhance its tech infrastructure, onboard skilled talent, and diversify its product offerings.
Founded in 2020 by Khet Singh Rajpurohit and Ajit Patel, ClaimBuddy aims to streamline the insurance claims process for both patients and partner hospitals through its digital platform.
ClaimBuddy has already assisted over 35,000 patients and collaborated with more than 250 hospitals nationwide, establishing itself as a comprehensive solution for medical insurance claims.
CEO Rajpurohit expressed confidence in leveraging the investment to introduce innovative financial tools and further improve healthcare experiences. ClaimBuddy’s focus aligns with addressing fundamental issues in insurance claim settlements and patient experiences, as highlighted by BIF’s Ashwin Raguraman.
ClaimBuddy faces competition from other insurtech startups but aims to disrupt the Indian insurtech sector, which is witnessing a surge in digital-first solutions and increased investor interest.
The Indian insurtech space is projected to be a significant segment within the larger fintech opportunity by 2030.
E-Financial
Recapitalisation: UBA Seeks Shareholders’ Nod to Raise Capital
United Bank for Africa (UBA) has said that it will seek shareholders’ approval at the company’s 62nd annual general meeting (AGM) to raise capital.
The AGM is scheduled to be held on May 24.
UBA disclosed this in a statement filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday.
The development is coming after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on March 28, directed commercial banks with international licences to raise their capital base to N500 billion, while national and regional financial institutions’ capital bases were pegged at N200 billion and N50 billion, respectively.
UBA said the board will propose the capital be raised in the Nigerian or international capital markets by way of public offerings, private placements, rights issue or other transaction modes.
The bank said the decision to raise the capital is subject to regulatory approval after consent from shareholders.
According to UBA, the instruments “can either be as a standalone issue(s) or by the establishment of capital raising programmes, whether by way of public offerings, private placements, rights issues and/or other transaction modes, at prices, coupon or interest rates determined through book building or any other acceptable valuation method or combination of methods, in such tranches, series or proportions, within such maturity periods and at such dates and upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the board of directors of the company subject to obtaining the requisite approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities”.
The company said the board would also propose increasing its issued share capital, from N17,099,710,683 to N22,500,000,000.
UBA, with a capital base of N115.82 billion, needs to raise N384.19 billion to meet the minimum capital requirement for international licence holders.
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