Gov Akinwunmi Ambode orders operation of a single revenue account for Lagos State

Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has ordered immediate closure of multiple state-owned accounts, to pave way for a single account system of the government.

Ambode in a statement yesterday, mandated all the affected revenue collecting banks to immediately close all the existing multiple revenue accounts domiciled in their banks to give room for a single revenue accounting system in line with the Accountability and Transparency Policy of the current administration.

“With this development, it is expected that all parastatals, local governments and establishments will commence the operation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) on September 1, 2015,” Read statement as given below

The statement signed by the Permanent Secretary/Accountant General of the State, Abimbola Umar, said the directive was part of efforts to “efficiently improve on the processes of revenue generation and collection in the state and ensure proper accountability and transparency in all government accrued revenues.”

The decision will also address the challenges previously faced with the operation of the multiple account system.

Ambode said the operation of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) aside providing transparency and accountability would also encourage tax payers to request for a single account before making their payments.

The development is in line with the objective of the move by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that all government revenue accrues to one consolidated account.

Tax idenfication number will now be mandatory for company's registration –FIRS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service is currently discussing with the Corporate Affairs Commission to make it mandatory for companies to obtain their Tax Identification Number at the point of registration.

The Director, Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS, Mr. Emmanuel Obeta, disclosed this to our correspondent during an interview in Abuja.

The move, he said, is part of measures to be used by the FIRS to capture more companies into the tax net, thus improving revenue for the Federal Government.

The Chairman, FIRS, Mr. Sunday Ogungbesan, had put the number of companies in Nigeria at 450,000, but lamented that only about 125,000 paid any form of tax.

He also said that the FIRS was given a revenue generation target of N4.5tn by the Federal Government in 2015 and had so far generated N2.667tn.

He said that the estimated collection for July 2015 was N404bn. This, he said, was 106 per cent of the monthly target of N381.02bn and brings total collection to date up to N2.374.18tn, against the target of N2.667.13tn, and improves collection percentage to 89 per cent.

Going by Ogungbesan’s summation, not less than 325,000 companies are evading tax, thus denying the FG of huge revenue annually.

But while the Service could not estimate the actual amount lost to tax evasion, Obeta said the FIRS, through the collaboration with the CAC, would be able to determine the level of turnover or business activity of a company within the year.

This, according to him, will enable the FIRS to discourage situations where organisations submit fake annual returns of their activities within the year.

He said, “The collaboration with CAC is still ongoing, such that FIRS will gain an immediate access to all the data of registered companies and such companies can also obtain their TIN at the point of registration from the CAC.

“The number was obtained from a physical validation or enumeration exercise. A lot of the other registered companies are portfolio companies without visible validation of their existence at their given addresses.”

On tax evasion, Obeta said, “It will be difficult to estimate the amount that the Federal Government is losing to tax evasion as we don’t know the actual revenue earned by everybody in the country that are not paying taxes.”

Ogungbesan had said that the service was considering rewarding tax payers, and noted that those evading taxes would first be enlightened on the importance of payment of taxes.

According to the FIRS boss, after the enlightenment, any firm and/or individual that fails to pay their taxes will face the full wrath of the law.

He had said, “The duty of every Nigerian as of January 1 is to go to the tax office and pick a form, to assess himself. We are undergoing a self assessment tax regime at the moment.

“There is a continuum we call compliance continuum. These are those who are complying and there are those at the extreme end who, no matter what action you take, no matter the intervention, no matter the encouragement, still will not comply.”


Culled from Punch

Pension firm paid N77b to the relations of deceased workers

Mr Sunday Thomas

A total of N77.18bn has been paid to the next of kin of 27,321 deceased workers as pension benefits of their breadwinners under the Compulsory Pension Scheme.

The amount, which was paid as of the first quarter of this year, showed an increase of N25.9bn over N52bn.9bn recorded as of the first quarter of last year.

These figures were contained in the latest report of the National Pension Commission on pension matters as obtained by Punch correspondent.

NAICOM said the amount (N77.18bn) represented what had been paid to the beneficiaries of the deceased employees from the inception of the scheme to the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Experts noted that more relatives of deceased workers were now coming out to demand for the benefits of their breadwinners following the reform of the pension administration, which had simplified the claim and entitlement process.

The Pension Reform Act 2004 was amended last year as part of the reforms and it gave birth to the Pension Reform Act 2014.

The Director-General, Nigerian Insurers Association, Mr. Sunday Thomas, said, “The delays that arise in transferring the benefits from insurance firms to the PFAs when there are group life insurance claims and the demand for letters of administration have been removed.


“The provision of the insurance law regarding payment of claims is now being implemented, which means the main beneficiary will be paid directly and that reduces the delay that occurs in claims settlement.”

Withdrawal limit on ATM's may stifle cashflow

Stakeholders in the financial sector  and businessmen said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) limit on cash withdrawal through  the Automated Teller Machine  may lead to a disruption of cash flow. They spoke against the backdrop of the recent CBN policy which pegged the daily cash withdrawal from the ATM at 300 dollars (N60,000 from N150,000).

They told newsmen in Lagos that the policy was a contradiction of the cashless regime earlier espoused by the apex bank. An economist, Dr Evans Osabuohien, said that the policy was a contradiction of the cashless policy of the CBN. Osabuohien, who lectures at the Department of Economics and Development, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun, added that the policy would have adverse effects on businessmen.

“The policy will lead to hardship in the economy and it will affect the confidence of businessmen in the banks,” Osabuohien said. He also noted that the policy might force bank users to look for other ways of banking their money without undue restrictions.

 “I think that this policy may force people to keep their monies in their houses with the attendant security risks,” as stated by Dr Osabuohien

MD of GTBank Wins 2015 Finance Monthly CEO Awards

The Foremost African financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc has again endorsed its position as a leading global brand with the recent recognition of its Managing Director/CEO, Segun Agbaje, as CEO of the Year at the 2015 Finance Monthly Global Awards

The Monthly Finance Awards, which is in its seventh year, is one of the most sought after industry awards and compiled by a dedicated team of researchers, who draw on the views of thousands of stakeholders including investors, analysts, executives, employees, and media professionals worldwide.

The research results are used to inform and identify best management practices and critical success factors, and ultimately recognize achievement in business.
Every year, Finance Monthly magazine identifies and honours the most respected companies and their leaders, by recognizing extraordinary individuals who have shown the strategic foresight and leadership to deliver superior performance over the past 12 months, effectively managed all key stakeholders and prepared the organization for the next phase of growth.


According to Mark Palmer, Finance Monthly Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, “The success of every business starts with a strategic, resourceful and engaging leader. It is these qualities that help foster team spirit and employee motivation, which in turn create a successful company.
“The CEOs listed within Finance Monthly’s 2015 CEO Awards publication are corporate leaders who deliver results and have achieved considerable success in their sectors.


In winning this award, Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc stands out as one of Africa’s most successful, innovative and forward thinking CEOs whose inspiring leadership has helped create an enduring organization with deep beneficial impact on the wider community and society at large.”

PWC,KPMG to audit NNPC,FIRS,CBN and other revenue generating parastatals

 The federal government has appointed leading audit firm KPMG & PWC(PriceWaterHouseCooper) to audit accounts of some agencies.The National Economic Council’s ad-hoc committee chaired by Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State diclosed this yesterday 13th of August 2015 in Abuja.The Audit work would cover the period between January 1, 2010 and June 30, 2015.

    "He named the agencies whose accounts would be audited as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Securities Exchange Commission(SEC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR), Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service(NCS), the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC), Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Federal Ministry of Finance and Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, among others.

Mrs. Tomi Somefun as new MD of Unity bank plc

The Central Bank of Nigeria has confirmed the appointment of Mrs. Tomi Somefun as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank Plc.

The confirmation came on the heels of the departure of the immediate past MD of the bank, Mr. Henry Semenitari, who resigned his appointment with the bank last month.

A statement by Unity Bank said Somefun’s confirmation was contained in a letter from the CBN and dated August 10, 2015.

An experienced professional with a depth of experience and knowledge of the finance industry, the statement said Somefun had over three decades of cognate work experience of which 26 years were in the banking sector.

She was said to have started her career in an accounting and financial consulting with Peat Marwick & Co, and subsequently Arthur Andersen & Co (now KPMG).

She was also said to have worked in several areas across the industry, spanning treasury and institutional banking, investment banking, retail and commercial banking.

Inflation rate stays at 9.2%

  National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday released the Consumer Price Index for July 2015, stating that the nation’s inflation rate had remained unchanged at 9.2 per cent.

The actual CPI released by the bureau came against experts’ forecast, which had predicted that the rate could increase to 9.4 per cent.

In the CPI report, which was made available to our correspondent, the bureau said the 9.2 per cent figure was the same rate at which the index grew in June.

The report said, “In July, the CPI, which measures inflation, rose by 9.2 per cent (year-on-year), unchanged from the rate recorded in June.

“The headline index has held at the same rate for the second consecutive month as a result of muted rises in the food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel, among others.”

On a month-on-month basis, the report said the pace of the increase in the headline index eased for the second consecutive month, increasing by 0.7 per cent in July, from 0.9 per cent recorded in June.

It stated that the urban index increased by 9.2 per cent (year-on-year), also relatively unchanged from the rate recorded in June, while the rural index increased marginally by 9.2 per cent, from 9.1 per cent in June.

On a month-on- month basis, both the urban and rural indices increased by 0.7 per cent, lower from 0.9 per cent recorded in June.

Meanwhile, the bureau also released the petrol price watch for the month of July, which showed that the average price that consumers paid for the petroleum product was N107.4 per litre as against the approved pump price of N87 per litre.

As reported by Punch.

Global market slide as China's Yuan falls

      In a world that is overdependant on the Chinese market especially the commodity market,the fall in Yuan is a critical issue to reckon with.  China for the first time in two years devalues its currency.

   The devaluation has more to do with the dynamics of global currency markets and to help Chinese exporters make their goods cheaper on the world market.A 2% devaluation  simply keeps the yuan a little more in line with trading partners’ currencies

   The People's Bank of China allowed the yuan to depreciate by nearly 2% against the U.S. dollar, the largest devaluation in two decades. China described the move as a one-off piece of market-reform, but many see it as a way to boost exporters and its cooling economy.
The move rippled through global markets and slammed stocks of many companies that sell goods in China, though some companies are set to benefit. The move also affected the exchange rates of several global currencies.

Interbank exchange rate as at 12th of Aug 2015

   Meanwhile,at the parallel market Dollar to Naira goes for N215

Bizblog term of the day : Tax Evasion

   Hello guys,I posted a news concerning tax evaders two days ago Click here and a blog visitor mailed me concerning the post title of the term aforementioned.Thus,bringing us to today's bizblog term.

    Tax evasion is the illegal way of avoiding to pay tax.it is an unlawful attempt to minimize tax liability through unscrupulous techniques to frustrate tax laws.

   It is a criminal offence subject to different penalties by tax authorities,tax evasion tactics involve misrepresentation of income or earnings to the Internal Revenue Service by individuals or corporate bodies.

 There are legal ways to paying less tax when you indulge the help of a good tax Accountant or financier which is basically called tax avoidance but using illegal ways to not paying your taxes makes one a 'Tax evader'

      There you have it guys,tax evasion is illegal and totally uncalled for.

PENCOM recovers N6.7bn from employers

The National Pension Commission recouped N6.7bn from employers of labour who have been deducting pension contributions from their workers’ monthly salary but failed in remitting  same to the employees’ RSA

PenCom said that during the first quarter of this year, it received 1,050 applications for issuance of compliance certificates, out of which 840 employers were issued the certificates while the remaining applications were rejected on the grounds that they did not meet the requirements.

The commission recruited the services of the recovery agents to go after employers found to be notorious for not remitting the monthly deductions from their workers to their respective Pension Fund Administrators as and when due.

PenCom said it had retained the services of consultants to conclude the work on the recovery of outstanding pension contributions from other defaulting employers.


The commission said it resorted to the use of force and penalties, having exhausted various persuasive methods of making the defaulting firms to comply.

Withdrawal limit on ATM's

   In a new development, all ATM's have been restructured to a cash withdrawal limit of N60,000 per day while foreign currency is $300 per day. Before now, the domestic withdrawal limit was N150,000 per day.

  As reported by Vanguard;
  
    The new arrangement has separated traditional ATM from MasterCard credit card where the former has now been deactivated and can no longer be used for transactions abroad. Hitherto, a single ATM card serves for transactions for both domestic and abroad.
Also, the restructured cards now have spending limits on POS/eCommerce (online shopping) pegged at $300 (about N60,000) per day. Before this, the limit was N2 million per day.

   In the new arrangement, a bank customer with multiple debit cards (ATM cards), only the one linked to the primary transactional account will be enabled for use abroad. Hitherto, such customers could transact with any of the cards that is funded.

However, banks are putting in place alternatives in these adjustments to address the concern of customers who are now being directed by their banks to reapply for a new card arrangement to suit their purposes.

These developments were coming on the heels of Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) statement on Sunday that all legitimate requests for foreign currency for eligible transactions, normally referred to as “invisibles,” such as remittances for school fees, student maintenance allowances, BTA, PTA, medical and other eligible transactions, shall be fully met at the official/interbank exchange rate.

  A statement from  CBN added that already all the legitimate demands for such transactions through recognised channels have so far been fully met by CBN.

The statement stated: “The CBN hereby directs all authorised dealers in foreign exchange in Nigeria to henceforth treat as top priority all legitimate demand for foreign exchange for eligible transactions.

“The CBN once again advises individuals that wish to source foreign currency for such eligible transactions to approach their banks with their legitimate demand as the CBN has made adequate provisions of foreign currency for all such legitimate and eligible purposes.
“Furthermore, holders of Naira denominated debit and credit cards shall continue to have access to the use of their cards at ATMs in any part of the world but subject to the annual limit of $50,000. ATM withdraws shall continue to be a maximum of $300 per day.”

Dan Price,CEO of Gravity payments raises company's minimum wage to $70,000

 

  The best form of motivation to give to an employee is a 'pay raise' and Price ,CEO of gravity payment did that with a whooping and smashing increase of employees salary.

    As reported by CNN;
    It's been four months since Dan Price, the CEO of Gravity Payments, unveiled a plan to provide even his most junior employees with a salary of $70,000.

  Many cheered the controversial policy, but there was also some backlash: Two employees left the Seattle-based payment processor, and so have a few clients. The plan has been attacked by political opponents who say it smacks of socialism.

    Price, however, is convinced he did the right thing.

   "The road has been bumpy, the challenges have been big, but our resolve ... is more than I ever could have imagined, and I'm thrilled that we're taking on this challenge,"

    Price decided to hike his employees' pay after he read a study about happiness, which concluded that additional income up until a salary of $75,000 a year can make a significant difference in a person's emotional well-being.

 About 70 of the company's 120 workers will have their pay raised to $70,000 over the next three years. About 30 of those workers will have their pay doubled.Price also cut his own salary from nearly $1 million to $70,000, to help pay for the other salary increases.

There will be no space for tax evaders as FIRS plans to collaborate with CBN to capture revenue inflows of Companies & Individuals

  Federal inland revenue services will be collaborating with Central bank of Nigeria(CBN) to capture revenue inflows of Corporate organisations and individuals.

 They are trying to bring up a rule that will disengage individuals and firms from operating their bank accounts if they don't have a tax identification number(TIN).

The FIRS chairman, speaking on how to boost non-oil revenue said that it would crack down on tax evaders by denying them access to banking facilities for individuals and companies that failed to join its register. FIRS boss told journalists in a news briefing in Lagos that there were more than 450,000 companies in the country, but only about 125,000 pay any form of tax.

  “We are collaborating with the CBN to enforce compulsory registration with the tax authorities by companies and individuals before they can access their bank accounts,”as said by Ogungbesan,the chairman of FIRS

FG to increase VAT(Value added tax) from 5% to 10% -FIRS

    In the face of the dwindling crude oil price,the federal government of Nigeria plans on increasing VAT payment from 5% to 10%.

  FIRS chairman Mr. Sunday Ogungbesan, said: “Federal Government would soon take a decision on the VAT system after engaging with stakeholders  on the need to increase it in order to make up for the shortfall in crude oil revenue. The plan is to increase to 10 percent this year but we have to consult first with relevant stakeholders.”

App4SMS: A new message sending Application

 Need an app for sending messages with no cost attached,no data subscription.Go download App4SMS on playstore Download here and  mobile.app4sms.com

   Easy you say: Yea quite easy

App4SMS is an innovative SMS technology, It is simple, intuitive and very efficient. It manages and provides easy SMS platform.

* Send Single and Multiple SMS accross Phonebook, Group, Call Log
* Manages Your Account, Message Signature.
* Manages your SMS .
* Synchronizes all your phone and app4SMS messages
* Easy Options to Send Messages via App4SMS and your Device
* Have Access to over 3000 Message Templates


Already downloaded mine + the customised senders name.

 I love it.

Diamond bank tendered an apology to Hon Abike Dabiri Erewa

Few days ago,I posted a news on banks publishing their defaulting debtors name.Click here

   Hon Abike Dabiri's name was published and Diamond bank came out to give a notice of apology.

 Find below as published on one of Nigeria Newspaper.

Exchange rate as at 7th of August 2015

158 Investors to be compensated with N42.2million by NSE

 Investors who lose money as a result of wrong doing by certain stockbroking firms licensed  by the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE )will be compensated as the  Board of Trustees of  Investors Protection Fund, IPF, of the exchange has approved N42.227 million.

   The 158 recipient due to be compensated are investors whose claims were verified by the exchange, approved by the Board of Trustees of the IPF, and whose identities were verified by an identity verification consultant engaged by the IPF.

The claimants were declared to be eligible to receive the compensation in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Investment and Securities Act 2007 (ISA) and the Investors’ Protection Fund Rules (the Rules).

Jon Stewart raises $2.2million for Autism as he bows out of The Daily Show on CNN

The daily show anchor on CNN,Jon Stewart used his last show to raise fund for autism charity.The donation goes to New York Collaborates for Autism.

Mr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu resumes as NNPC Group managing director

        Mr Emmanuel was recently appointed as the Group managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),He promise to work consistently in achieving the president’s growth aspiration for the oil and gas industry.


    Mr Kachikwu was a First Class Graduate of Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Nigerian Law School.He also had Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Law from the Harvard Law School.
  
    Until his appointment, Mr. Kachikwu was the Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Exxon Mobil (Africa).


 Congrats to him.

Vice President Osinbajo Commissions Dangote cement plant in Zambia

Dangote group yesterday commissioned a $400m plant in Zambia,the commissioning was graced by the President of the republic of Zambia Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, His Excellency, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,CEO of Dangote group Alhaji Aliko Dangote  and other personalities from Nigeria and Zambia.

Click to continue:

Bizblog term of the day : Dividend

    Dividends are earnings of a corporation distributed to its shareholders.To be called a shareholder means you form part of the ownership of the organisation.you might fall in the minority or majority class of shareholder depending on the value of shares you have with the Corporation.

     Dividend is the stake of your shareholding in an organisation after the organisation declares its profit for any financial year. Basically,dividend can be said to mean a distribution of a firm's profit or surplus.

     An organisation might decide not to pay dividend to its shareholders in a particular year depending on its trading activities for that particular year. 

   Dividend paid to shareholders of a company is based on the value of shares such shareholder has with the firm i.e Shareholders receive dividend in proportion to their shareholding. If a company declares N0.85k as DPS(dividend per share) and the number of shares you own in the firm is 20,000,your dividend for that year amounts to N17,000.

    If a firm declares a high DPS,it means they are doing quite well financially in terms of profitability but if the case is otherwise,it means a decrease in profitability amongst other factors.

Banks exposes defaulting debtors

Nigerian Deposit Money Banks on Monday continued with the policy of naming and shaming their delinquent debtors with further publication of the names of firms and their directors whose loans have become non-performing for more than one year.

While nine banks published the names of the loans defaulters on Monday, four banks released the lists of their chronic debtors, owing a total of N143.81bn, on Tuesday.

The four banks are First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc.

The banks, which had published the list of their delinquent debtors on Monday were Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Heritage Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited.

First Bank, which has its total amount of non-performing loans as N43.72bn, published 92 names of delinquent debtors.

The first five companies on the lender’s list owe a combined sum of N23bn. These are Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Starcomm Plc; BGL Securities Limited, where a former Minister of Finance and National Planning, Kalu Idika Kalu, is a director; Shield Petroleum Limited and Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited.

Shield Petroleum, the number one on the list, owes N6.883bn; while Zurich International Service, the last on the list, owes N26.69m.

Unity Bank also released 260 names of delinquent debtors with a combined NPL figure of N45.52bn.

The list has the companies of some prominent Nigerians. These include Umar Mutallab’s DeanShanger Project Limited, N3.6bn; Senator Ayodele Arise and a former Minister of State for Works, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye’s International Payment Devices Limited, N81.9m; and Prince Adeyanju Olateru-Olagbegi’s Cupid Investment BDC, N90.1m.

Other prominent companies on the list are Ekiti Kete Mass Transit, which owes N991m; Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited, N2.5bn; Ava Cement Limited, N.8bn; and Plywood Chemical and Accessories, N1.1bn.

Ava Cement topped Unity Bank’s debtors’ list with N9.8bn, while Malcolm Akpokodje owes the least with N20m.

Access Bank Plc published a list of 11 delinquent debtors, with a combined NPL figure of approximately N3.4bn.

Top on the list are Bioka Ventures Limited, which owes N1.15bn, while Derukas International Limited was last on the list with a debt of N56.3m.

Diamond Bank Plc has N47.17bn as its total NPLs, with companies belonging to prominent Nigerians owing sizeable amounts.

These include Sir Emeka Offor’s Global ScanSystem Limited, which the bank says owes N181m; a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa’s Thriller Eneavours, which owes N122m; and a former Delta State Commissioner for Sports Solomon Ogba’s Delta Mega Trend Limited, which owes N89m.

Aside the 13 banks which have published their debtor lists, other banks which will publish theirs this week are Ecobank Nigeria, First City Monument Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Keystone Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc and Wema Bank Plc.

Investigations by our correspondents on Monday revealed that most of the banks had cut their list of delinquent debtors due to litigation with their customers over disputes arising from loan terms and last-minute renegotiations by some clients.

A top bank executive, who spoke to one of our correspondents under the condition of anonymity, said, “Some of the banks have to remove the list of some clients due to issues that border on litigation.

“Some names were removed at the last minute after the affected customers came to renegotiate with us. Some banks have had to cut the names on their debtors’ list by at least 50 per cent.”

Officials of banks, who spoke to our correspondents, linked the relatively high figure of the NPLs in some banks to inside connivance with customers, lingering margin loans and huge oil and gas-related loans.

According to them, customer relationship managers in some of the banks connived with the customers to obtain huge loans that eventually became bad.

They also said that long-standing margin loans in some banks were responsible for the high figure.

“A huge chunk of the loans are oil and gas related. The drop in oil prices has also worsened the situation for some oil and gas companies. They borrowed relatively large amounts of money, which later became bad loans,” an official of a tier-1 bank told our correspondent.

Meanwhile, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria will publish the list of its debtors early next week if they fail to regularise the terms of their loans with the agency.

The spokesperson for AMCON, Mr. Kayode Lambo, who confirmed this on Monday, said companies which failed to regularise the terms of their loans with the agency would have their names published.

“As many companies who have not been servicing their loans will have their names published,” he added.

The names of firms belonging to prominent Nigerians who have not been servicing their loans may appear on the list.

In 2009, the Federal Government spent about N5tn to buy the NPLs from banks to save them from imminent collapse.

AMCON, the government agency created after the 2009 banking crisis, was the special purpose vehicle used to acquire the NPLs from the banking sector.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had on April 22, 2015 directed the banks, discount houses and AMCON to publish the list of delinquent debtors from August 1.

They are to publish the names in at least three national newspapers on a quarterly basis.

In line with the directive, the banks gave the chronic debtors a three-month grace period, which expired on July 31.

The Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. ‘Tokunbo Martins, had in a circular dated April 22, 2015, said, “In order to ensure that the industry NPL ratio does not exceed the prudential limit of five per cent and to improve the credit culture in the banking industry, banks and discount houses are directed to observe prudent credit underwriting and monitoring standards.”

The debtors are those whose accounts have been classified as lost and include persons, entities, directors, subsidiaries and other related parties, according to the central bank.

The central bank had stated that delinquent debtors in the category described above would be blacklisted and “banned from participating in the Nigerian foreign exchange market and in the Nigerian government securities market.”



Culled from The Punch

10 Most traded stock on today's floor of NSE

Commerzbank 2nd Quarter profit increases

Germany's second biggest banking group Commerzbank says its second quarter earnings has increase majorly by a push-up of  higher revenue and a lower tax bill.

From April to June the bank made a net profit of 280 million euros against 100 million euros in the first quarter.

Frankfurt-based Commerzbank said its gross profits more than doubled to 646 million euros, with a 15.5 per cent rise in turnover to 5.2 billion euros.

"The substantial improvement in our operating income in the first quarter is a clear sign of the turnaround success of Commerzbank," as states  the bank's chairman Martin Blessing 

Greek bank shares crashes 30% on reopening

     

   Following the news on Greece debt defaults and the melt down which has caused major part of the economy to seize up.

    There was a bail out by the International Monetary Fund(IMF), the European Central Bank(ECB) and the European Commission 

     Greece suspended all trading at the end of June when the country fell into default on its debt. Capital controls were introduced, including the closure of banks and financial markets, to prevent billions of euros from flooding out of the country. ATM withdrawals were limited to 60 euros per day.

  Greek's financial market staged a come-back but barely some hours after trading resumes Monday, Bank shares crashed 30% on Athens Stock market,Stocks in other sectors recovered slightly during the morning but the index was still down by more than 16% by early afternoon.

PTDF called on Federal Government to compel IOC's to employ Nigerian

The Petroleum Trust Development Fund has called on the Federal government of Nigeria to compel local and international oil companies operating in the country to employ professional Nigerians

Speaking at a Seminar of  Annual Oil and Gas research Grant competition in Abuja, Executive Secretary of the Fund, Mr. Femi Ajayi, lamented the fact that after excelling in their studies and having undergone rigorous and world class training in both local and international institutions, majority of the professionals ended up without jobs.

According to him, the Federal Government should put in measures that will ensure that both local and international oil companies engage indigenous professionals, especially scholars of the PTDF scholarship scheme. He said, “The issue is not just competence and capability, there is also the need for political will among the IOCs and the government. We cannot rely on the goodwill of the IOCs when it comes to the issue of employing of our people; they have to be compelled to do it.”

The Nation's externel reserves depleted by $4.88bn in effort to stabilise the Naira

The efforts by the nations apex bank to stabilize the naira at the interbank market depleted foreign reserves by $4.9bn in the first quarter of 2015.

According to the CBN, the reserves fell by 14.3 per cent, down from $34.24bn at the end of December 2014 to $29.36bn at the end of March 2015.

The bank, in its latest External Sector Development Report for quarter one 2015, stated that the reserves for March 2015 dropped by $8bn when compared to what it was at the end of March 2014.

It attributed the decline in the external reserves to its intervention at the inter bank market, funding of the retail Dutch Auction system and the bank’s drive to stabilize the local currency.

It said, “The stock of external reserves at end-March 2015 stood at $29.36bn as against $34.24bn and $37.4bn recorded at end-December 2014 and end-March 2014, indicating respective depletion of $4.88bn and $8bn

A breakdown of external reserves by holdings, according to the report, revealed that the share of the CBN portion maintained the lead at $24.99bn (85.1 per cent) of the total, while the portion of the federation reserves and the Federal Government reserves stood at $2.26bn (7.7 per cent) and $2.10bn (7.2 per cent), respectively.

It noted that the aggregate demand for foreign exchange by the authorized dealers consisting of rDAS(Retail dutch auction system) and Bureau De Change operators in Q1 2015 amounted to $9.51bn as against $14.47bn and $16.2bn demanded in the preceding and corresponding quarters in 2014, representing declines of 34.3 and 41.3 per cent, respectively.

Skye Bank increases half year earnings by 33%

Skye Bank Plc on Thursday announced gross earnings of N85.2bn for the half year ended June 30, 2015. The result shows an increase of 33 per cent over the N63.9bn recorded during the corresponding period in 2014.

According to the highlights of the results submitted to the Nigeria Stock Exchange by the bank, the bank's shareholders' funds grew from N131bn in 2014 to N141bn during the period under review, representing a growth of seven per cent.


As an indication to increased business momentum, the bank's net interest income also grew to N30.2bn as against N25.5bn in 2014, a growth of 18 per cent.


Similarly, net fee and commission income witnessed a big leap from N10.6bn in 2014 to N14.1bn, showing an increase of 33 per cent.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, said the bank was beginning to harness the business potentials, synergies, and opportunities from its recent acquisition of the defunct Mainstreet Bank Limited.


He assured customers and other stakeholders of the bank of good returns as well as adequate protection of their investments.


He added that the bank would continue to work towards improving its business performance on a sustainable basis for the benefit of its stakeholders, while maintaining transparent disclosures, professionalism and good governance.

Walmart in Lagos

 

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has assured a delegation of Walmart Incorporated that the state is ready to give necessary support to assist the firm in establishing its presence in the state.

The multinational retail Corporation retail corporation team was led  the President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada, Shelley Broade.


  The Governor of Nigeria's commercial capital ,Mr Ambode said the presence of the Walmart brand in Lagos would go a long way not only to create jobs for the teeming youths, but also boost the economy of the state.


He said the success story of the brand, which currently operates in 28 countries with over 2.2 million employees, would be beneficial to the growth of the state as well as his vision to make life comfortable for residents.


The governor said, "That summaries the reason why Walmart has to berth in Lagos. We are committed to expanding the business scope for Walmart and like I said, I am interested in having your brand signature in Lagos.