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Banking Sector

ZENITH BANK HOLDS THIRD EDITION OF TECH FAIR – “FUTURE FORWARD 3.0”

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1 week ago

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Zenith Bank Hackathon

The Third Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, tagged “Future Forward 3.0”, is set to be held on Wednesday, November 22 and Thursday, November 23, 2023, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily.

The Two-Day fair will showcase leading technology innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Contactless Payments, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, FinTech, Data Analytics, Financial Intelligence, and communication technologies. The event will feature pitch sessions to identify innovative startups, panel discussions, masterclasses and exhibitions.

Among the plethora of events lined up, the event will feature a welcome address by Jim Ovia, CFR, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank and opening remarks by Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc and Chairman, Body of Banks’ CEOs, Nigeria, and Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc.

There will also be a goodwill message by the Honourable Minister of Communication, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani and a presentation by Dr. Doris Anite,  Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, amongst others.

The keynote address, “Artificial Intelligence – Application & Bias “, will be delivered by Chris Lu, a renowned IT Specialist, business strategist and Managing Director for Huawei Technologies, Nigeria.

Other prominent IT practitioners who represent top global brands will make presentations. These include Demola Sanusi, Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services; Temitope Aladenusi, Partner & Leader Cybersecurity, Deloitte; Andrew Uaboi, Vice President/Cluster Head, Visa West Africa; Dr. Blaise Ijebor, Director of Risk Management, CBN; Keelan Singh, Head, UiPath EMEA Banking and Financial Services; Shweta Juneja, Partner, McKinsey Digital; Wole Odeleye, Financial Services Technology Lead, Microsoft; Ope Ajayi, Founder & CEO, Cinemax; Elo Umeh, Managing Director of Terragon.

The fair will also feature two-panel discussions that will holistically explore the growth prospects for digital payments technology in an ever-growing financial landscape. The first panel which will examine “The next frontier: Digital Wallets, Contactless payments and BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later)”, has Chris Lu as the host, with five discussants, including Fey Wong, Country Director, Palmpay; Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director, NIBSS; Vincent Ogbunude, Managing Director, Verve; Ebehijie Momoh, Country Manager, MasterCard, and Managing Director of Network International, Adelola Agbebiyi.

The second panel will explore the theme “The intersection of Fintech, eCommerce and SMEs – Collaboration for growth”.

It will be hosted by John Obidi and has five discussants, including Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, Chief Executive Officer, Konga; Tunde Kehinde, Managing Director, Lydia; Stan Martins, Regional Director, Meta; John Obaro, Chief Executive Officer, SystemSpecs, and Seyi Banigbe, Founder of Bland2Glam.

The first edition of the Zenith Tech Fair was held on November 27, 2019, at the Landmark Events Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. Tagged ‘Future Forward,’ the fair featured a hackathon that produced ten winners, including Octave Analytics Limited, who won the grand prize of N10m.

The second edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, which was held on November 22 and 23, 2022, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme “Future Forward 2.0” also featured a hackathon which produced ten finalists with the 1st place winner, Ecotutu – a cleantech company making cooling affordable and accessible for businesses, carting home N20 million.

To register and participate, visit www.zenithbank.com/techfair. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email. The fair will be live on Zoom for participation and streamed on the bank’s social media pages, including YouTube.

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Banking Sector

FirstBank UK Enhances Fixed-Income Workflow Through Bloomberg Integration

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22 hours ago

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November 29, 2023

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FirstBank Headquarter - Investors King

FirstBank UK, the UK subsidiary of First Bank Nigeria Limited, has announced its onboarding on Bloomberg’s Trade Order Management System (TOMS) to enhance its fixed-income workflow.

The integration with TOMS is expected to provide FirstBank UK with access to a comprehensive suite of data and analytics, communications, order, and execution management solutions, streamlining its fixed-income bonds business.

As a niche market-maker for its customers in Africa, FirstBank UK plays a vital role in providing market liquidity in cash bonds, particularly in Nigerian, Angolan, Egyptian, and Ghanaian Eurobonds, to manage risk and optimize its inventory.

Olukorede Adenowo, CEO-designate at FirstBank UK, expressed enthusiasm about the integration, stating, “Bloomberg TOMS provides FirstBank UK with a complete end-to-end trading workflow covering African bonds in most of our home markets. The solution enables us to focus on expanding our footprint in the African Fixed Income landscape and deliver a first-in-kind service to our customers in Africa.”

Bloomberg’s TOMS is renowned for enhancing operational efficiency across enterprises. Lisa Bravo, Global Head of Sell-Side OMS at Bloomberg, commented, “We are pleased to help FirstBank UK enhance operational efficiency across its enterprise with our award-winning sell-side order management solution TOMS.”

FirstBank UK had previously digitized its order management workflow by offering clients access to liquidity on its Eurobond Single-Dealer Platform.

The recent integration with Bloomberg TOMS aims to centralize order handling, aggregated custom analytics, and liquidity tools within a single interface, facilitating real-time access to liquidity for customers.

Robert Hagenaars, Head of Markets at FirstBank UK, highlighted the unique feature of real-time access to liquidity in their markets, providing a distinct advantage for their customers.

This move signifies FirstBank UK’s commitment to leveraging advanced technological solutions to fortify its position in the African Fixed Income market and deliver enhanced services to its clientele.

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Banking Sector

BFREE and Union Bank Explore Distressed Loan Portfolio Acquisition in Innovative Partnership

German-Nigerian Fintech BFREE and Union Bank of Nigeria to Explore Distressed Loan Portfolio Acquisition

Published

2 days ago

on

November 28, 2023

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In a strategic move to address economic challenges and adapt to the current financial landscape, German-Nigerian fintech firm BFREE and Union Bank of Nigeria have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that explores the potential acquisition of distressed loan portfolios.

The MoU was formalized during the German-Nigerian Business Forum in Berlin, signifying a collaboration that could reshape Union Bank’s loan portfolio strategy.

BFREE, in conjunction with its international financing partners, is eyeing a potential investment cap of $40 million.

The focus of the collaboration is on refinancing non-performing loan portfolios, particularly those facing delays in repayment or already written off.

As Union Bank adjusts to economic pressures, the partnership leverages artificial intelligence to provide innovative solutions, offering increased flexibility for loan repayment plans.

Union Bank, acknowledging the challenging economic environment, has taken proactive steps to navigate uncertainties.

Executive Director of Union Bank, Joe Mbulu, expressed excitement about the strategic partnership, emphasizing its alignment with Union Bank’s commitment to innovation and adaptability.

This collaboration underscores the dedication to finding inventive solutions to address economic challenges faced by customers.

The potential acquisition of distressed loan portfolios reflects a forward-looking approach to financial management and resilience in a dynamic economic landscape.

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Banking Sector

Nigerian Bank Shares Surge as Central Bank Signals Capital Buffer Strengthening

Investors Respond Positively to Anticipated Capital Raising Measures

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2 days ago

on

November 28, 2023

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

Nigerian bank shares experienced a surge on Monday as investor sentiment rose following the central bank’s announcement that banks should increase their capital to cushion against economic uncertainty.

FBN Holdings Plc led the way with a 10% increase to N22 per share, its highest-a-day increase in five months.

Access Holdings Plc and Sterling Financial Holdings Plc also joined the upward trend, recording gains of 4.3% and 5%, respectively.

The banking index, which gauges the performance of the country’s major lenders, rose 1.7% to 754.95, reflecting the most significant increase in almost a month.

Investors are interpreting the central bank’s directive as a precursor to potential capital-raising initiatives by banks.

Joshua Odebisi, a bank equity analyst at RMB Nigeria Stockbrokers, stated, “Investors are anticipating a few things that can happen, such as capital raising, which has potential upside for those taking a position now.”

He highlighted FBN as having significant room to fulfill higher capital requirements that the central bank might set.

Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso announced the need for banks to raise additional capital as a safeguard against the challenges posed by the weaker naira and sluggish economic growth.

While specific details were not provided in the announcement, the industry expects forthcoming guidelines that may involve an increase in minimum shareholders’ equity and adjustments to capital adequacy ratios.

The move aligns with a broader industry trend of reinforcing capital buffers amid naira depreciation.

FBN had previously gained shareholder approval for a rights issue to raise up to 150 billion naira in fresh equity.

The central bank’s emphasis on capital strengthening comes as the Nigerian currency has experienced a 40% depreciation against the dollar since the easing of foreign-exchange controls in June.

FBN’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 16% in the third quarter, closely approaching the 15% minimum threshold for international banks.

In comparison, Access Bank reported a ratio of 19.6%, indicating a stronger position relative to regulatory requirements.

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