Finance

NSE ETFs Assets Hit N4.26bn in Five Years

Published

8 years ago

November 8, 2016

CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr

NSE ETFs Assets Hit N4.26bn in Five Years

The Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday said the Assets Under Management of the eight listed Exchange Traded Fund stood at N4.26bn as at September, 2016.

The NSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema, spoke at the ETF 2016 workshop organised by the bourse in partnership with Stanbic IBTC Asset Management, Lotus Capital and Vetiva Fund Managers Ltd. in Lagos.

An ETF is an investment vehicle that tracks an index, a basket of assets, or a commodity, but trades like regular shares on a stock exchange.

These investment vehicles allow investors a convenient way to purchase a broad basket of securities in a single transaction.

Onyema said that the figure represented a growth of 1,900 per cent when compared with AUM of N287.5m in 2011 when ETF was introduced on the Exchange.

He said, “As at today, we have recorded about 1,900 per cent growth in our ETF market with total AUM of about N4.24bn as at September 2016 on eight ETFs currently listed and traded on the Exchange.”

He said that ETFs were introduced on the NSE in December 2011 with cross listing of Newgold ETF with AUM of N287.5m to provide investors with new opportunities to diversify their portfolios and access the market.

Onyema said that the eight ETFs in the market are Newgold ETF, Vetiva Griffin 30 ETF, StanbicIBTC ETF 30, Lotus Halal Equity ETF, Vetiva Sector Series ETFs- Banking, Consumer Goods and Industrial, and Vetiva S&P Nigerian Sovereign Bond ETF.

He explained that the Exchange had six equity backed ETF, one commodity ETF, and one bond ETF.

He said that global ETF AUM had grown to $3tn within five year in April, 2016 from $1.4tn in December 2010, representing a growth of over 102 per cent.

He said, “Experts have predicted the continued growth of the ETF industry, estimating that global AUM will reach at least seven trillion dollars by 2021.”

The NSE chief said that currently, there were about 506 ETF investors in the market.

He, however, expressed optimism that “the growth of ETFs in Nigeria has only just begun with the support of market intermediaries, stakeholders and our regulator”.

Onyema said that the existence of ETFs in the Nigeria market was beneficial to retail and institutional investors, as ETFs offer a direct and inexpensive way to attain diversified exposure to an index, commodity, sector or region.

He said ETFs also offer additional benefits of low expense ratio compared to mutual funds, increased liquidity.

Onyema said that this could be used to execute different investment strategies asides from diversification and tradability.

He further said that the workshop was organised to create awareness of the product, address its challenges and promote the opportunities in Nigeria and Africa.

He said, “The Exchange remains committed to partnering with all market stakeholders, to continue to build and develop the Nigerian capital market, while offering a wide range of investment vehicles for all investors.”

The Executive Director/Head, Sub-Saharan Africa Client Coverage Team, MSCI, Mr. Gareth Allison, said that ETF aids investors to diversify their diversification.

Allison said that MSCI would aid the Exchange to develop and transform its ETF market.

He said, “We want to help investors to utilise opportunity in the market and make maximum return.”

On the Fundamental of Market Indices, Allison said that investors need to understand the underlying assets before investing in any market.

He said that indices were very important in investment decision, and as well used as policy benchmark.

He said, “Market is revolving, investors are revolving too, and we are faced with behavioural investors.”

In her comments, Ms. Nerina Visser, ETF Strategist and Advisor from South Africa, said that market regulators needed to know the type of ETFs to develop to ensure investors patronage.

Visser said that market markers were needed to act as liquidity boosters for ETF to thrive in any market.

She said that South Africa had the highest market for the product with 74 Exchange Traded Products across all asset classes.

Visser added that market should come out with specific investors’ needs in the establishment of ETF.

She also said that regulators should consider reducing trading fees for ETF to increase patronage.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Banking Sector

Zenith Bank Enhances E-Channel Services for Customers

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, has restored improved services across its electronic transaction channels, ensuring customers have seamless access to banking services.

In a statement released on Thursday via its X handle, the bank confirmed that customers can now conveniently conduct transactions across various platforms following a recent upgrade. These enhancements follow temporary glitches caused by routine IT maintenance aimed at optimizing service delivery.

Zenith Bank reiterated its commitment to providing improved services and highlighted the various channels available for customer transactions, including:

– Zenith Bank Debit, Credit, and Prepaid Cards
– Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)
– Point of Sale (POS) Terminals
– Zenith Bank Mobile App
– Internet Banking Platform
– Zenith Agents nationwide for agent banking

Customers are also encouraged to visit any of the bank’s branches across the country for in-person transactions.

Zenith Bank reassured further improvements in service delivery following the IT infrastructure upgrade. Customers with bulk payments and salary requests are encouraged to present payment mandates at any Zenith Bank branch nationwide for expedited processing.

Zenith Bank remains dedicated to enhancing customer experience and ensuring reliable banking services across all platforms.

Banking Sector

Nigerian Banks Face Soaring Wage Bills Amid Rising Inflation

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

Many Nigerian commercial banks have been spending more on hiring staff, fresh data has revealed.

Following worsening inflation in the country, some banks have to pay more for their newly hired workers, thus doubling the banks’ wages and salaries in just over a year and putting pressure on their operating costs.

The data showed that wages and salaries incurred by 10 banking groups in the first half of 2024 (H1 2024) stood at N615.8 billion, representing a 96 percent growth from the N314.4 billion incurred in H1 2023.

The banking groups are Access Holdings, UBA, FBN Holdings (First Bank), GTCO (GT Bank), Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings (Stanbic), Wema Bank, FCMB Group, Sterling Holding Company (Sterling), and Jaiz Bank.

It showed that Access Holdings incurred the highest wage bill among the banks, with N151.5 billion, up by 145 percent from the N61.9 billion reported in H1 2023 while First Bank’s personnel expenses for H1 2024 hit N134.2 billion, marking a 110 percent year-on-year increase from the N63.9 billion personnel expenses incurred in H1 2023.

For UBA, its wage bill grew by 92 percent year-on-year to N126.6 billion during the six months, up from N65.9 billion as of H1 2023. Also, Zenith Bank’s wage bill soared by 64 percent year-on-year to N63.5 billion, from N38.6 billion in H1 2023. Stanbic incurred wage expenses of N40.6 billion during the six-month period, up from N28.2 billion in H1 2023.

GT Bank’s wage bill almost doubled, increasing by 98 percent year-on-year to N39.3 billion, up from N19.9 billion in H1 2023. FCMB Group’s wage bill grew by 74 percent to N26.6 billion in H1 2024, up from N15.2 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2023.

In the same vein, Wema Bank’s wage also went up by 77 percent to N15.6 billion, from N8.8 billion in H1 2023. Sterling Bank’s wage bill also jumped by 41 percent year-on-year to N12.5 billion, from N8.9 billion as of H1 2023.

Jaiz Bank’s wage bill went up by 78 percent to N5.5 billion, from N3.1 billion in H1 2023.

The data showed that for some of these banks, the increase in employees also contributed to their rising wage bills, though, marginally.

For example, Zenith Bank increased its employee count by 511 to 8,146 between H1 2023 and H1 2024. UBA’s employee count between H1 2023 and H1 2024 increased marginally by 3 percent or 338, from 9,751 to 10,089.

While some companies downsize their staff strength, due to the harsh economy in the nation, the few available workers have been overloaded with work.

With inflationary pressures hitting hard on individuals and businesses, companies have been forced to substantially increase the wages for the few available staff.

For banks, apart from their staff wages, they have also had to incur increased outsourcing costs. Outsourcing costs relate to expenses incurred when a bank hires third-party contract staff.

GT Bank’s outsourcing costs increased by 69 percent year-on-year to N14.5 billion during the half-year, in contrast with N8.6 billion in H1 2023. First Bank’s outsourcing costs jumped by almost 300 percent year-on-year during the half-year to N16.4 billion, from N4.3 billion in H1 2023. Wema Bank also saw a dramatic increase in its outsourcing costs, posting N8.85 billion for the category in H1 2024, representing a 272 percent year-on-year growth from N2.38 billion as of H1 2023.

The jump in labour costs for banks has positioned some of them as the top-paying employers in the country. For instance, in H1 2024, Stanbic IBTC Holdings posted a wage per employee of N2.11 million per month. Zenith Bank had a wage per employee of about N650,000 per month, a stark comparison with UBA’s N2.09 million per month. However, UBA’s foreign operations employ about 4,150 staff members.

Banking Sector

Zenith Bank Apologizes for Service Disruption, Assures Customers of Improved Operations

Published

3 days ago

October 3, 2024

Bassey Marshall

Zenith Bank Plc has tendered an apology to its customers for the poor services experienced on its banking platforms.

Investors King reported that the service disruption which lasted for days left customers frustrated.

Despite the notice from the bank notifying its customers that it would perform maintenance from September 29 to October 1, many customers took to social media to register their disappointment with the bank.

Also, on Monday, September 30, angry customers converged at Zenith Bank, Ijaiye Ojokoro branch in Lagos, demanding access to their money.

A customer, Segun, who said that his main goal was to transfer his funds to another bank after being unable to access his money through any means revealed that for two days, he had tried to withdraw or transfer money through the bank’s mobile app, but nothing worked.

“My family nearly went hungry yesterday because of this issue,” he said, adding that his ATM card wasn’t working either.

However, on Thursday, Zenith Bank issued an apology via its official X handle to its customers.

The bank revealed that it had completed its maintenance upgrade and apologized for the inconvenience caused during the process.

Zenith Bank disclosed that the upgrade was aimed at improving the bank’s quality of service to its customers, emphasizing that customers can now perform transactions conveniently on all its banking channels, including mobile app, internet banking platform, debit card, agent banking, and branches nationwide.

The statement read, “Dear Valued Customer,

We sincerely apologise for the service disruptions you experienced recently on our banking channels. This was due to an information Technology upgrade aimed at improving the quality of service we provide.

We have made significant progress with the upgrade and you can now perform transactions conveniently with the following Zenith bank Channels:

Your Zenith Bank Debit Card
The Zenith Bank Mobile App
The Zenith bank Internet Banking Platform
Zenith Agents nationwide (Agent Banking)