E-Financial
SEC, DMO Move to Collaborate to Boost Domestic Bond Market
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) have agreed to work in synergy for the growth and development of Nigeria’s financial system, particularly, the domestic bond market.
This follows a courtesy call on Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, director general of SEC, by Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, director general of the DMO at the SEC Tower in Abuja recently.
At the meeting, Mr. Gwarzo applauded the DMO’s role in the ongoing restructuring of loans owed by state governments while emphasizing the need for closer collaboration between SEC and DMO to catalyze the development of the bond market, including the non-interest segment.
With the prevailing macroeconomic environment characterized by significant revenue squeeze facing both the Federal and state governments, the meeting could not have been timelier.
It would be recalled that the new administration had placed emphasis on maintaining the solvency of state governments in spite of their level of indebtedness and revenue profiles.
Having earlier approved a rescue package to help about 18 states meet up with salary obligations, the Federal government had directed a restructuring of loans owed by various state governments.
This loan restructuring effort is currently being coordinated by the DMO with support from the SEC. The courtesy visit therefore provided an opportunity for the two institutions to agree on a framework that allows for closer collaboration between the two government agencies to effectively deliver on President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive. So far, the DMO has been able to convert about N575 billion in state government loans into longer tenured debt instruments.
Mr. Mounir Gwarzo pledged further support from the SEC to ensure states enjoy a cost effective restructuring as well as reduced debt-servicing burden.
While outlining a number of initiatives which require closer collaboration with the DMO to achieve, the SEC Director General applauded the role DMO plays in sustaining the Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) framework which has been critical for investor confidence in the domestic bond market. He urged the DMO to focus on conducting more robust debt sustainability analyses for the states in line with its mandate enshrined within the DMO Establishment Act 2003.
Mr. Gwarzo highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the different bond market segments noting that during the dormancy period of FGN-bonds, the corporate bond market was relatively vibrant.
The fortunes seem to have now reversed with sustained issuance of FGN-bonds coinciding with low activity in the corporate bond segment.
Both institutions agreed to work together to avoid this crowding-out effect by ensuring that states and companies also enjoy affordable access to long term capital.
With increasing interest from multilateral institutions in the domestic bond market, both SEC and DMO emphasized the need for synergy to efficiently coordinate such applications.
The World Bank’s private sector arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the African Development Bank (AfDB), have both issued naira-denominated bonds within the past 2 years.
Both multilateral development finance institutions have also expressed interest in registering medium term note programmes that ensure periodic issuances to deepen the bond market.
The SEC boss entreated support from the DMO in the implementation of the 10-year capital market master plan which the SEC is currently implementing. In particular, he highlighted aspects of the master plan in which the DMO can play a critical role. Part of the master plan involves strategically developing and deepening the non-interest capital market in Nigeria.
Mr. Gwarzo therefore urged the DMO to consider issuing a sovereign Sukuk on behalf of the Federal government.
According to him, this will not only provide a benchmark for other issuers of Sukuk like state governments but will also be in line with global trends. Indeed, annual issuances have grown from $15 billion in 2008 to almost $120 billion in 2014.
This is growth is not only coming from the usual issuers like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and Indonesia. 2014 marked debut sovereign Sukuk issuances by countries such as the UK, Hong Kong and Luxemburg, including peer African countries like Senegal, South Africa.
Mr. Gwarzo expressed optimism in Nigeria’s potential to become a global leader in this specialized market and urged the DMO to contribute to actualizing that aspiration by issuing sovereign Sukuk for Nigeria.
Other important issues discussed at the meeting include the appreciable development of the secondary bond market, especially since the launch of the FMDQ platform. Mr. Gwarzo was pleased to note FMDQ’s progress while assuring Dr. Nwankwo that SEC will ensure the DMO is carried along on developments related to FMDQ.
At the end of the meeting, the two institutions agreed to strengthen the interagency team already in place and ensure that issues concerning the development of the bond market are jointly addressed.
PalmPay, one of Africa’s leading digital financial services companies, is considering a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after attaining a valuation of more than one billion dollars, according to a Bloomberg report.
PalmPay
The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the fintech company was also seeking to raise between 150 million dollars and 200 million dollars in fresh funding ahead of a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO).
According to the sources, the additional capital is expected to support PalmPay’s next phase of expansion across Africa and selected Asian markets.
If completed, the IPO would rank among the most significant public market debuts by an African fintech company and could encourage other technology firms on the continent to explore listings beyond the traditional financial centres of London and New York.
Founded in 2019, PalmPay has emerged as one of Africa’s fastest-growing consumer fintech platforms, providing digital payments, money transfers, savings, lending and merchant payment solutions.
The company has established its strongest market presence in Nigeria while expanding operations into Ghana, Tanzania and Bangladesh as part of its international growth strategy.
PalmPay says it currently serves more than 35 million registered users and supports over one million businesses and merchants, processing millions of transactions daily.
Its rapid growth has positioned it among Africa’s leading fintech firms, alongside companies such as Flutterwave, Moniepoint, OPay, Wave and Onafriq.
Unlike many technology startups that have prioritised rapid customer acquisition over profitability, PalmPay reportedly achieved profitability in 2025, a development analysts say could enhance investor confidence as the company prepares for another fundraising round and an eventual stock market listing.
The report noted that Hong Kong could offer strategic advantages for PalmPay due to its strong commercial ties with Asian investors and the company’s growing presence in emerging Asian markets.
PalmPay’s early investors include Transsion Holdings, the maker of the Tecno, Infinix and itel smartphone brands, as well as investors linked to NetEase and MediaTek.
Industry analysts believe these long-standing relationships could make Hong Kong a natural destination for PalmPay’s public listing while broadening access to investors already familiar with its business model.
The company’s IPO plans come as venture capital investment in African startups has slowed considerably since the record funding years of 2021 and 2022, prompting many technology firms to focus on profitability, stronger balance sheets and sustainable long-term growth.
Against that backdrop, PalmPay’s proposed fundraising and listing are expected to serve as an important test of international investor appetite for profitable African fintech companies.
The company’s valuation also underscores the resilience of Africa’s digital payments sector, driven by rising smartphone adoption, expanding internet access and increasing demand for cashless transactions across the continent.
Although PalmPay has yet to make a final decision on either the fundraising or the IPO timetable, the reported preparations indicate that the company is positioning itself for its next phase of growth.
Industry observers say a successful Hong Kong listing could provide fresh momentum for Africa’s technology sector and create an alternative pathway for high-growth startups seeking access to global capital markets.
Hackers have hit the database of Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions, stealing customers’ information.
Zenith confirmed the attack in an email to customers on Tuesday.
The bank said the hackers accessed limited customer information, “including email addresses and phone numbers, during a cyberattack that forms part of a broader global attack on organisations across different sectors”.
The lender stressed that the incident involved only limited customer information, adding that its banking services and digital channels remain secure and fully operational.
The bank said it is investigating the attack, noting that its incident response protocols and other cybersecurity measures were immediately activated after the breach was discovered.
“As a precaution, we encourage our customers to remain vigilant against phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls, and to never disclose their password, PIN, One-Time Password (OTP), or other security credentials to anyone,” the bank said.
Zenith Bank said it remains committed to protecting customers’ information and thanked them for their continued trust, adding that investigations into the incident are ongoing.
In August 2024, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) reported experiencing a similar incident.
The commercial bank said there were attempts to compromise its website domain, but customers’ data was not affected.
The latest attack comes months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned the public of cyber hack attempts to gain access to personal accounts of Nigerians.
The CBN said the hackers were circulating fraudulent messages and emails falsely claiming to originate from the bank.
According to the financial regulator, there were misleading messages circulating, designed to deceive Nigerians and compromise their personal information.
The regulator said the fake communications, which include emails and online messages, often prompt recipients to click suspicious links while spreading false claims about the bank’s leadership, licensing activities, and policy decisions.
Nigerians lost N25.85 billion to digital payment fraud in 2025, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Though the figure represents a significant decline from the N52.26 billion recorded in 2024, CBN, said the losses remained substantial for payment service providers (PSPs).
According to the report, although the value of digital payment fraud declined significantly year-on-year, when compared to the N52.26 billion recorded in the previous year, the losses remained substantial for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), underscoring the need for stronger fraud prevention measures across the industry.
In the report, the CBN, also identified systemic risks, cyber threats, the dominance of a few systemically important payment service providers, and the activities of unlicensed payment companies as major concerns confronting the financial sector.
According to the report, although the value of digital payment fraud declined significantly year-on-year, the losses remained substantial for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), underscoring the need for stronger fraud prevention measures across the industry.
“Digital payment fraud in Nigeria stood at N25.85 billion in 2025,” the apex bank said.
It noted that while this represented a considerable improvement from the N52.26 billion lost in 2024, the amount remained significant.
“Though this was lower than N52.26 billion in the preceding year, it represented a substantial loss for PSPs,” the report stated.
The CBN attributed the reduction in fraud losses to enhanced security measures implemented across the financial sector.
It said, “The lower losses in 2025 reflected improvements in monitoring, BVN-NIN integration, and tighter controls.”
Beyond fraud, the report warned that Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payments landscape faces increasing systemic vulnerabilities as banks and fintech companies become more interconnected through shared payment infrastructure.
According to the report, a major operational failure involving a single payment service provider could quickly spread across the financial system because of the growing dependence on integrated payment platforms.
The CBN observed that despite ongoing efforts to strengthen payment system integration, interoperability remains a significant challenge.
It disclosed that about half of fintech stakeholders continued to express dissatisfaction with the current level of system-wide interoperability.
The report stated that “about 50.00 per cent of fintech stakeholders continued to rate system-wide interoperability as poor, primarily due to the lack of universal APIs and data-sharing standards.”
The apex bank also expressed concern over the concentration of payment activities among a few Systemically Important Payment Service (SIPS) providers, warning that operational failures involving any of them could have widespread consequences.
It explained that the failure of such providers could trigger a “domino effect”, where insolvency or operational glitches in one payment service provider spread rapidly to others, disrupting the smooth functioning of the financial system.
Cybersecurity also featured prominently among the risks identified in the report.
The CBN warned that payment service providers remain vulnerable to ransomware attacks, data breaches and credential theft, noting that cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in targeting financial institutions.
According to the report, “Banking and fintech institutions remained prime targets for ransomware, data leaks, and credential theft.”
It added that, “Cyber threats in Nigeria are no longer random cybercrimes, but increasingly targeted, organised, and identity-driven campaigns.”
The report further cautioned Nigerians against transacting with unlicensed payment companies, stressing that such entities operate outside regulatory oversight and expose users to significant financial risks.
It warned that customers using unlicensed PSPs are not protected by existing regulatory safeguards and that such operators could facilitate illicit financial activities.
“Users of unlicensed PSPs are not covered by regulatory protection that comes with effective oversight and supervision,” the CBN said.
It further warned that, “Unlicenced payment companies are gateways for money laundering which could undermine regulatory efforts and corrode public trust.”
The report underscores the growing importance of strengthening fraud detection systems, improving payment infrastructure interoperability, enhancing cybersecurity resilience, and intensifying regulatory oversight as Nigeria continues to expand its digital payments ecosystem.
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