Wema Bank expends N221m on judiciary archive

Wema Bank Plc has raised support for the Lagos State Government and the Justice Research Institute Limited with N20 million to deliver a world-class archiving service aimed at transforming record management in the Lagos State High Court.
In a bid to address the deteriorating state of the Lagos High Court archives, the Lagos State Judiciary and the Justice Research Institute, a private limited liability company, partnered to create a joint venture, the Lagos Archives and Property Litigation Registry (LAPLR).
Apart from the N20 million funding by Wema Bank, the Bank also granted LAPLR a Project Finance Facility to the tune of N201 million.
The Managing Director of Wema Bank, Segun Oloketuyi, while speaking at the launch of the archives at the Lagos State High Court, noted that the bank identified the need to have a credible source of information on land and property that are subject to litigation in Lagos State, hence the

FG to target other sectors for revenue – FIRS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said the current paradigm shift in Nigeria’s economy calls for attention and concerted efforts towards the development of other critical sectors of the economy for the much-needed revenue.
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, who was recently elected President of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) in Pretoria, South Africa in his remarks said without any doubt, the creative industry has opened new frontiers and economic opportunities in terms of wealth creation, knowledge economy, employment generation, local capacity utilisation and revenue generation; with huge potential to leapfrog into emerging high-growth economy.
Fowler, who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Kola Okwola noted, “that the extent to which an economy is able to grow sustainably and develop depends to a large extent, on its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure and the efficiency of its tax system.

Power sector loses N549bn yearly to gas constraints

Nigeria’s power sector is losing an average of N549 billion yearly to gas supply challenges. The situation has continued to deprive the country of over 2,479 Mega Watts (MW) daily.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the sector is losing an estimated N1.525 billion daily due to power generation constraints.
Further analysis showed that losing N1.525 billion daily to lack of gas to power plants, translated to N45.75 billion monthly.
NESI said, in its daily power generation analysis, that the country recorded line constraint of 394.5MW and high-frequency constraints of 303MW as at October 12, 2016. It explained that the revenue losses were calculated using a net, average and levelised tariff of N20/kWh. The agency stressed that in gross terms, this implies average end-user tariffs of circa N32/kWh inclusive of all Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses (ATC&C) and export sales if one adopts the

Dollar scarcity: Banks suspend ATM card usage abroad

Deposit Money Banks have begun suspending their Automated Teller Machine cards (debit and credit) from working overseas as dollar scarcity continues to hit the economy badly.
Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank on Friday announced the suspension of their overseas ATM card services.
Also suspended by the banks are online transactions priced in foreign currencies. This means that customers of the banks will no longer be able to use their debit or credit cards to make online transactions that are denominated in dollars, euros, pounds sterling and other foreign currencies.
In a note to its customers on Friday entitled: ‘Suspension of international transactions on naira debit cards’, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria said, “Please be informed that effective immediately, your naira denominated debit cards will no longer be functional for international transactions.
“This is due to the current volatility in the foreign exchange market. Your naira-denominated debit cards can only be used for local transactions at Point of Sale terminals, Automated Teller Machines and online for Nigerian retailers.”
In a text message to its customers on Friday, Stanbic IBTC Bank similarly said, “Dear customer,

GE confirms $2 billion investment in Nigeria

General Electric has confirmed its interest in investing $2 billion on Nigerian railway concession project worth around $2 billion.
President Muhammadu Buhari said in his 1 October anniversary speech that GE would be investing $2.2 billion in a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage some of the country’s railways.
Given the size and scope of the proposed project, it is likely that the debt and equity commitments required from lenders, consortium partners and other co-developers will be in the range of $2

Gombe govt workers to get home renovation loan

The Gombe State government has perfected plans to begin home renovation loans to its civil servants.
To this end, the Head of Gombe civil service Dr. Deniel Mohammed Musa, said the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to provide a platform for home renovation loan scheme.
While speaking in Gombe in his office recently, Musa explained that the MoU will create an avenue for civil servant to access a new package brought to them by the bank.

2 Nigerian banks close to insolvency, deficit – Analysts

Two Nigerian Banks are close to being insolvent, while two others “will need a dilutive capital hike,” Jaap Meijer and Tarek Sleiman, analysts at Arqaam Capital, Dubai-based investment bank and brokerage told Bloomberg yesterday.
According to the analysts in an e-mailed note, Capital ratios are set to worsen in the country’s banking system because of currency depreciation and souring loans. Calls to one of the banks were not immediately returned and the other did not reply to questions.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in July replaced the management of Skye after the lender breached liquidity thresholds, spurring concerns about the health of small- and medium-sized lenders, and reviving memories of bank rescues by the government after the financial crisis in 2009.
Nigerian banks are grappling with a devaluation of the naira, rising bad loans and an

Emefiele, Adeosun allay concern over disharmony between CBN, Finance Ministry

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said there is no disharmony between the bank and Ministry of Finance.
Speaking at a press briefing in Washington DC, United States, Emefiele said both the monetary and fiscal authorities were working hand-in-hand to get the much desired growth needed to get Nigeria out of recession, and towards much needed growth.
In September, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said the fiscal authorities were in need of low interest rates, to reduce the cost of borrowing.
However, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN, against Adeosun’s request, held interest rates at 14 per cent, signalling some disunity between fiscal and monetary authorities.
According to The Cable, both Adeosun and Emefiele said there was no such disharmony, as that both authorities were working to achieve the same goal of driving growth.
“Just because the monetary policy committee finds themselves in a situation where they are