E-Financial
Google Sued By Two Former Employees for Discrimination Against Men
Google has been sued for allegedly discriminating against conservative white men in a class action lawsuit filed by two former engineers.
The duo say they want to represent all staff discriminated against due to their “perceived conservative political views, male gender and Caucasian race”.
James Damore, fired last year over a controversial memo, is behind the suit.
His memo argued there were few women in top jobs at the firm due to biological differences between men and women.
Mr Damore and David Gudeman, another former engineer at the firm, filed the suit at Santa Clara Superior Court in California.
A spokesperson for Google said they “look forward to defending against Mr Damore’s lawsuit in court.”
A separate case filed by three women who used to work at Google, alleging it pays women less than men for comparable work, was dismissed last month, but has been refiled in an amended form.
Mr Damore and Mr Gudeman claim in their lawsuit that Google employs illegal hiring quotas to fill posts with women and minorities.
They accuse the company of failing to protect employees with conservative views, including supporting US President Donald Trump.
Their lawsuit says the men were “openly threatened and subjected to harassment and retaliation” at the company, which they describe as an “ideological echo chamber”.
It says Google “openly shames” managers who fail to meet goals, even booing them at meetings.
Mr Damore’s memo caused fierce debate about free speech in the workplace and diversity in Silicon Valley.
The memo’s focus on perceived biological differences between men and women proved highly controversial.
In the lawsuit, Mr Damore said the memo was intended to remain internal and had been written in response to a request for feedback from a diversity and inclusion summit he had attended.
When Mr Damore lost his job, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said portions of the memo violated the company’s code of conduct and crossed “the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace”.
But Mr Damore said he had received “many personal messages from fellow Googlers expressing their gratitude” for speaking out.
Google is also under investigation by the US Department of Labor over whether its pay practices fall foul of equal pay laws.
E-Financial
Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme
“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.
MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.
Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.
The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.
The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.
E-Financial
CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
The inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.
In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.
“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.
The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.
However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.
Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.
Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.
E-Financial
CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.
The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.
Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.
“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”
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