Femi Otedola, group chairman, First Bank Holdings, has justified the company’s decision to write off N748bn in legacy non-performing loans, saying the move was a deliberate strategy aimed at securing long-term financial stability, even though it significantly reduced reported profits.

Femi Otedola, group chairman, First Bank Holdings,

Otedola made this known in a post on his X handle, where he explained that the large-scale provisioning led to a 92 per cent drop in the holding company’s profit figure.

According to the billionaire investor, the write-off was in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive encouraging banks to confront non-performing loans openly instead of postponing the issue.

“At First HoldCo we decided to clean house properly. We took a huge one-time hit of N748bn to admit old bad loans instead of pretending they do not exist. That is why profit looks like it crashed by 92 per cent. Painful headline, but it is a serious long-term move,” he wrote.

He noted that the decision was taken to finally address problematic loans accumulated over previous years and to strengthen confidence among stakeholders.

“Why do this now? Because the CBN is pushing banks to stop kicking problems down the road. So First HoldCo basically closed the chapter on messy loans from past years which sends a clear message that borrowing has consequences and it helps rebuild trust,” Otedola added.

Despite the scale of the write-off, Otedola maintained that the bank’s core business remained solid, stressing that strong earnings demonstrated the institution’s underlying financial strength.

He disclosed that the bank generated N2.96tn in interest income and N1.91tn in net interest income, figures he said were sufficient to absorb the clean-up while keeping operations stable.

“The key point is this: our business itself is STILL strong. It made N2.96tn in interest income and N1.91tn in net interest income, which gave it the strength to take the cleanup and still stay standing,” he stated.

Looking ahead, Otedola expressed confidence in the bank’s future, saying the balance sheet clean-up has positioned First Bank well for recapitalisation and sustained growth.

“Now at First Bank and beyond we go into 2026 lighter, cleaner and better prepared for the recapitalisation era and serious growth. Bad loans cleared + strong income engine + long-term thinking = real value creation,” he concluded.

Unity Bank Plc, Nigeria’s retail lender, has launched an upgraded version of its mobile banking platform, Unifi, as part of ongoing efforts to improve customer experience and reinforce its proposition in e-business.

Speaking on the upgrade, Adenike Abimbola, divisional head, Retail, SME, Digital Banking & Fintech Partnerships at Unity Bank,  said the improvements were built on the back of continuous interrogation of the platform to be more responsive to customer feedbacks which are being received overtime in our interactions and engagements.

“Digital banking has become an integral part of everyday life, particularly for retail customers who expect speed, dependability, convenience, and security as standard. With the latest upgrade to Unifi, we are responding directly to these expectations by enhancing functionality, strengthening security, and simplifying key payment and transaction journeys. Our goal is to ensure that customers can carry out their banking activities seamlessly, confidently, and without friction, anytime and anywhere,” Abimbola said

The Federal Government of Nigeria has flagged off a free nationwide training of 10 million Nigerians on financial inclusion and literacy.

This is just as Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria can reap bountifully from its demographic dividend only if young Nigerians and women are equipped with the needed skills and ethical grounding required for a speedily progressing digital economy.

The training undertaken by the Office of the Vice-President through the Presidential Committee on Economic & Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), chaired by Vice-President Shettima, is designed to equip Nigerians, particularly women and youths, with essential financial skills, investment knowledge, and digital competencies for sustainable wealth creation.

Accordingly, the Office of the vice-president, through the PreCEFI, signed a  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with six professional bodies to jointly design training programmes, certification pathways, digital skills initiatives, and mentorship platforms that would strengthen Nigeria’s financial and enterprise workforce.

The professional bodies include the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS); National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA); Chartered Risk Management Institute (CRMI) and Nigeria Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NIIE).

Speaking while officially flagging off the free nationwide training of 10 million Nigerians, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, the vice-president noted that the signing of the MoU between the Federal Government and six of Nigeria’s foremost professional bodies was more than a formal agreement.

“It is a strategic national investment in capacity as infrastructure which is the human, institutional and ethical foundations upon which inclusive growth must rest,” he stated.

Shettima noted that the Aso Accord on Economic and Financial Inclusion, which the PreCEFI is mandated to implement, recognises the fact that “financial inclusion is not achieved by access alone, but by competence, trust and capability”.

According to him, the nation “cannot build a one-trillion-dollar economy on weak skills, fragmented standards, or disconnected professional ecosystems”.

He said: “This MoU therefore establishes a working framework to harness the collective expertise of ICAN, CIBN, CIS, CRMI, NICA, and NIIE to advance inclusion through capacity building, advocacy, digital transformation, youth empowerment and support for small and medium practitioners.

“It establishes a structured mechanism for joint training programmes, policy dialogue, digital skills development, and professional standards that align market practice with national inclusion goals.”

The vice-president pointed out that while capacity building is financial inclusion, “without accountants who understand MSME formalisation, credit administrators who can assess risk beyond collateral, bankers who embed consumer protection, risk professionals who anticipate digital threats, and innovators who translate ideas into enterprises, inclusion remains a slogan rather than a system”.

Maintaining that the training programme must prioritise young Nigerians and women, Shettima said: “Importantly, this collaboration prioritises women and youth inclusion and digital transformation, recognising that Nigeria’s demographic dividend will only materialise if young people are equipped with relevant skills and ethical grounding for a fast-evolving digital economy.”

He charged the PreCEFI and the professional bodies not to treat the MoU as a mere document, but as a living platform for execution.

“Accordingly, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, I hereby flag off the free training of 10 million Nigerians with priority for women and youth across the country,” Shettima declared.

Earlier, President of ICAN, Mallam Haruna Yahaya, applauded the administration of President Tinubu for its bold economic reforms that has culminated in the flag off of the financial inclusion free training programme for 10 million women and youths in Nigeria.

He said the decision to embark on the project was prompted by visible improvements in the economy as a result of the gains of the Federal Government’s policy reforms.

Yahaya assured the vice-president of their professional support in the realisation of set objectives, describing their involvement in the project as an institutional honour.

On his part, the CEO of WAWU Africa, the technical partners in the programme, Mr Emmanuel Lennox, assured the Federal Government of the company’s readiness to deliver on the project, particularly in providing the digital platform and overall enabling environment for its success.

Also, explaining why the training of 10 million Nigerians on financial inclusion had become necessary, the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Dr. Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, said: “Exclusion is not only by lack of access, but by limited skills, weak institutional capacity, and insufficient professional support.

“Consequently, financial inclusion is not achieved by infrastructure alone; it is achieved when people and institutions are equipped to use that infrastructure responsibly, productively, and sustainably.”

The high point of the event was the signing of the MoU for the capacity building programme by the Federal Government and the six professional bodies.