Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has reported a $407 million profit after tax for the 2023 financial year.

This represents an 11% increase from the $367 million reported for the year 2022 and reflects the pan-African banking group’s continued growth trajectory amidst challenging economic conditions.

The financial results, filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday, showcased Ecobank’s robust performance despite the headwinds posed by higher inflation, interest rates, and currency depreciation across Africa.

The group’s profit before tax also rose by 8% or 34% when adjusted for foreign currency translation effects to $581 million.

According to Ecobank, the growth in profit was primarily driven by revenue outpacing expense growth, resulting in positive operating leverage.

The group’s pre-provision, pre-tax operating profit hit $951 million in the year under review, representing a 17% increase from the previous year.

Commenting on the financial results, Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, acknowledged the challenges faced by households, businesses, and governments across Africa in 2023.

Despite the economic uncertainties, Awori declared Ecobank’s unwavering commitment to its customers and stakeholders.

Awori stated, “Ecobank generated a return on tangible shareholders’ equity of 24.9% despite the challenging operating environment in 2023.”

Net revenue exceeded $2.0 billion for the first time since 2015, reaching $2.1 billion, underscoring the efficacy of Ecobank’s 5-year growth, Transformation, and Returns strategy.

The CEO attributed Ecobank’s encouraging results to its customer-centric approach and initiatives aimed at revenue diversification, growth, and low-cost deposit mobilization.

The consumer and commercial banking businesses witnessed an increase in their share of group-wide revenues and profits, indicating progress in strategic objectives.

However, amidst the overall positive performance, Ecobank’s Nigerian operations faced challenges, with profit before tax declining to $27 million in 2023 from $31 million in 2022, representing a 15% decrease.

The challenging operating environment in Nigeria, characterized by high inflation and currency depreciation, impacted the performance of the Nigerian segment.

Looking ahead, Ecobank remains committed to its strategic agenda, which emphasizes technology-driven innovation, revenue diversification, and cost management.

The group’s focus on disciplined cost management aims to redirect savings into investments in marketing, sales capabilities, and technology, driving sustainable returns in the future.

As shareholders approved a N10 billion rights issue, Ecobank is well-positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities and navigate evolving market dynamics.

With a resilient performance in 2023, Ecobank reaffirms its commitment to driving growth, delivering value to shareholders, and advancing financial inclusion across Africa.

Unity Bank Plc has engaged students from all the geopolitical zones of the federation as it facilitated financial literacy training in 15 schools as part of activities to mark the 2024 Global Money Week.

The Financial Literacy Training was held as a strategy for driving financial inclusion of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Bankers Committee. Unity Bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Tomi Somefun participated in the programme by facilitating training on financial literacy at NYSC Demonstration Secondary School, Calabar, Cross River State recently.

Mrs Somefun, who was represented by Unity Bank’s Chief Compliance Officer, Mrs. Patricia Ahunanya, provided the students with invaluable insights on the path to wealth creation, including imbibing savings habits, investing, and adopting money management skills early.

Her interaction with the students was aimed at instilling financial discipline and financial management skills for the attainment of financial independence and security while promoting a savings and investment culture. During the session, Mrs. Somefun acknowledged outstanding students and presented them with awards.

The Global Money Week (GMW) is an annual campaign dedicated to raising global awareness about the importance of promoting financial literacy among young people from an early age. The initiative focuses on equipping them with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours essential for making informed financial decisions, leading to financial well-being. Each year, a minimum of 40,000 organizations participate in this endeavour, collectively impacting over 60 million children globally.

In Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Banker’s Committee in collaboration with Junior Achievement Nigeria, coordinates the activities for Global Money Week, which sees the participation of financial institutions with nationwide coverage.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) has directed four leading fintech companies, OPay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, and Moniepoint to halt the onboarding of new customers pending further investigation.

This directive, issued by the apex bank, comes in the wake of allegations linking these fintech giants to illicit foreign exchange transactions.

The move has sent ripples across Nigeria’s burgeoning fintech landscape, raising questions about regulatory oversight and the evolving dynamics of financial technology in the country.

Representatives from two of the affected companies confirmed the CBN’s order, shedding light on the gravity of the situation.

While acknowledging the allegations, they highlighted potential misdirection, emphasizing that the majority of implicated accounts are affiliated with commercial banks rather than fintech platforms.

“I can confirm that 90% of the accounts implicated in the illicit forex transactions are with commercial banks, and only 10% are with fintechs. Why then has the CBN not extended this directive to the commercial banks? We face a widespread issue here, and targeting fintechs seems like an unfair focus on the more vulnerable targets,” one source explained.

This revelation underscores a broader concern regarding regulatory asymmetry within Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

Despite fintechs demonstrating robust Know Your Customer (KYC) practices, they find themselves under intense scrutiny while traditional banks seemingly evade similar directives.

The controversy deepened with recent revelations from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which secured a court order to freeze over 1,100 bank accounts allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions.

Justice Emeka Nwite’s decision, issued on an ex-parte motion, underscores the urgency to address financial malfeasance within the country.

However, scrutiny seems disproportionately directed towards fintechs, leaving industry insiders perplexed.

“In terms of KYC, the fintechs are doing better than the banks, but all eyes seem to be on the fintechs whenever the issue of KYC occurs,” a source revealed.

This regulatory imbalance raises critical questions about the evolving role of fintech in Nigeria’s financial landscape.

Despite their innovative solutions and customer-centric approach, fintechs face a regulatory framework that appears skewed against them, favoring traditional institutions.

As Nigeria strives to maintain financial integrity and stability, stakeholders must address these regulatory discrepancies to ensure a level playing field for all participants.

The outcome of this saga will not only shape the future of fintech regulation but also define Nigeria’s approach to combating financial crime in an increasingly digitized economy.