E-Financial
United States Dollar struggles ahead of Jerome Powell’s Congress testimony
The recent forex analysis has shown that Dollar is under threat to losses once again, with the Greenback at time of writing currently trending lower against all of its G10 counterparts, with the exception of the Canadian Dollar.
The Dollar is also weaker against many emerging market currencies, as investors take some Dollar exposure away from the table ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Congress testimony later in the week.
The new Fed Chair is expected to be heavily quizzed on policy, with congress likely to be particularly interested in Powell’s US interest rate outlook.
If Powell suggests that the Federal Reserve could raise US interest rates four times in 2018, it could be seen as a positive sign for the US Dollar.
Away from the highly anticipated testimony of the new Fed Chair, one of the major stories making the rounds are reports that President Xi Jinping is set to tighten his grip on leadership in China by scrapping the two-term presidency rule.
Premier Xi, remaining in power past his set term, is likely to lead to an opportunity to drive through his policy agenda, and appears to have been warmly received by investors.
The Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 1.2% on Monday, while the Chinese Renminbi climbed around 0.5% against the USD.
Centralizing power under Premier Xi should also lead to China making further reforms and progress towards liberalizing its financial markets, which should provide another reason to expect a stronger Chinese Yuan.
Another currency to have started the week positively against the USD is the Russian Ruble, with the USDRUB down by 0.35% at time of writing and 1% since Friday.
S&P Global Ratings raising Russia’s credit rating to investment grade BBB-/A-3 on Friday has increased momentum for the Russian Ruble.
The Russian economy has withstood a variety of different obstacles over the past couple of years, including international sanctions following the Crimea conflict and declining commodity prices.
The economy does; however, appear to have weathered the storm with the outlook for the economy now being more stable.
The upgrade should continue to lift sentiment towards the Ruble, as investors receive encouragement to hold capital in Russia.
A hawkish shift in tone from Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden towards higher UK interest rates has encouraged the Sterling to climb against the Dollar.
Ramsden has previously voted against raising UK interest rates, but his comments over the weekend signal that another member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is becoming upbeat on the UK interest rate outlook.
This has also encouraged the market to be more optimistic over a potential UK interest rate rise before the second half of 2018.
The expectations that UK Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, will support staying in a customs union with the EU after Brexit will also help investor sentiment, as it complements the view that the United Kingdom is heading for a ‘softer’ Brexit.
The GBPUSD is currently trading 0.4% higher against the Dollar for the day and, as long as the GBPUSD manages to remain above the psychological 1.40 level, the outlook will be that the Pound can trade higher as the week continues.
Kuda Microfinance Bank has unveiled the 2025 edition of “My Year on Kuda,” its annual recap providing customers with personalised insights into their spending, saving, and money management habits from the previous year.
Kuda Microfinance Bank
The tool analyses transaction data across categories like transfers, card payments, online purchases, and bills, revealing patterns such as highest-spending months, biggest payments, saving frequency, and savings from Kuda’s 25 free monthly transfers. Customers can compare 2025 activity against 2024, including income versus expenditure.
In an era of inflation and economic uncertainty, the recap promotes financial literacy by highlighting responsible borrowing via Kuda Overdraft usage, including access frequency, amounts borrowed, and repayment patterns.
Customer-shared screenshots on X reflect national trends: Nigeria recorded over 2.2 billion electronic transactions worth ₦285 trillion in Q1 2025, up 20 percent year-on-year, with POS terminals driving the shift to cashless commerce.
Kuda Group CEO Babs Ogundeyi, in the recap’s opening video, urged users: “Before you carry on with January, this is the perfect time to see everything you did with your money on Kuda last year and learn something.”
The feature underscores Kuda’s focus on actionable insights to help Nigerians navigate evolving personal finance amid shifting earning and spending behaviours.
Wema Bank has introduced SAW, a new AI voice assistant integrated into the ALAT 2.0 app, allowing customers to manage finances through natural voice commands similar to Siri, Bixby, or Alexa.
Wema Bank
SAW understands everyday language and delivers instant responses tailored to banking needs, such as checking account balances, transferring money, reviewing transactions, and accessing support.
This feature brings conversational banking to Nigerian users, eliminating complexity and enhancing accessibility.
The bank positions SAW as a pioneer in AI-powered financial services, aligning with global trends where millions interact daily with voice assistants for tasks like setting reminders or playing music.
ALAT 2.0 represents the next evolution in digital banking, making services more efficient, personal, and human-like for everyday Nigerians.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited has fully repaid bondholders who validly tendered their notes ahead of the February 2026 maturity date.
The bank announced the successful completion of its tender offer, under which it prepaid approximately $245 million of its $300 million Eurobond, representing more than 80 per cent of the total issuance.
According to a statement, the transaction relates to the 7.125 per cent Senior Note Participation Notes due February 2026.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited said it launched a tender offer to eligible noteholders in respect of the outstanding $150 million on the bond on November 27, 2025, providing them with an opportunity to redeem their holdings ahead of the original maturity date of 16 February 2026.
It stated that the early and late tender participation deadlines were 11 December 2025 and 29 December 2025, respectively.
According to the bank, holders of notes validly tendered and accepted received a cash consideration of $1,000 per $1,000 in principal amount, in addition to accrued interest from the last interest payment date up to, but excluding, the final settlement date of 31 December 2025.
Following completion of the offer, the bank said the outstanding principal amount of the notes has been reduced to approximately $55.092 million.
The bank also stated that the initiative reflects Ecobank Nigeria’s proactive approach to liability management and prudent balance sheet optimisation.
The tender offer was conducted with Renaissance Capital Africa (Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited) acting as financial adviser and dealer manager, while Sodali & Co Limited served as tender agent.
The notes were originally issued by EBN Finance Company B.V., with limited recourse to the issuer, for the sole purpose of financing the purchase of the $300 million 7.125 per cent Senior Note due 2026 issued by Ecobank Nigeria Limited.
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