The Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Munir Gwazo, has called on the National Assembly to quickly remove some identified impediments on the way of implementing capital market master-plan through legislation to fast-track the implementation of the plan.
Speaking at the just-concluded stakeholders’ forum on realising the potentials of the Nigerian economy through proactive capital market legislation co-hosted by the capital market committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives, Gwazo said the action had become imperative because of the critical role the legislation would play in tackling identified legal impediments to the master-plan.
Gwarzo identified some of the impediments to include jurisdictional conflict between the Investments and Securities Tribunal and the Federal High Courts.
To address these impediments to the actualisation of the master-plan, Gwarzo appealed to the National Assembly to include the IST under Section 6 (5) of the Constitution and draft “legislation to prescribe the adoption of “reasonableness test” in conducting judicial review in contrast to the “correctness test” as well as make the IST a special division of the Federal High Court. Besides, the National Assembly was urged to amend the relevant sections of the Land Use Act to resolve property/land title allocation and transfer issues to facilitate securitisation because “various sections of the Land Use Act inhibit, the development of the capital market. Particularly, Sections 21 and 22 negatively impact transfer of possession and foreclosures, which by implication inhibit the take-off of mortgage-backed securities.”
The SEC is also demanding for an amendment of Section 22 of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to innovatively allow crowd funding of private companies.
According to the SEC director-general: “Section 22 of CAMA on crowd funding limits members of a private company to 50 while also restricting its transfer of shares.
Gwarzo stated that “a robust legal and regulatory frame-work is a necessary condition for the actualisation of our master-plan aspirations.”
In his speech, Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Isiaka Adeleke, said the National Assembly is keenly aware of the dwindling fortunes of the capital market and by extension, the economy but that as a parliament, they “strongly believe that the downward slide in Nigeria’s economy provides the best opportunity for major stakeholders to begin to return the economy to vibrancy.”
The two chambers of the National Assembly, he said, have come to the jolting realisation that the Nigerian economy cannot fully develop without making the capital market the hub or pivot of its developmental strides.
According to him: “This market has long been neglected and denied its rightful and strategic role in our march towards economic recovery. The capital market is a veritable institution for mobilisation, allocation and utilisation of long-term funds, not just by the federal but also for states and local councils.”
The value of the domestic crude oil purchased by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between April 2015 and April 2016 was $1.8 billion (N1.2 trillion).
Besides, the combined value of output by the three refineries (at import parity price) for the month of April 2016 amounted to ₦28.57 billion while the associated crude plus freight cost was ₦21.57 billion, giving a positive margin of ₦1.30 billion after considering overhead of ₦5.70 billion.
NNPC, who made this disclosure in its monthly report released on Monday, said that NNPC lifted 14,185,585.00 barrels of crude oil for domestic utilization translating to an average volume of 457,599.52 barrels of oil per day in terms of performance.
The report disclosed that in order to meet domestic product supply requirement for the month of March, 2016 about 9,493,824 barrels of crude oil was processed through Offshore Processing Agreements (OPA), while 1,897,063 barrels was processed as Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) whereas 904,221 barrels was sold in the export market and the balance of 1,890,477 was processed in the domestic refineries. It said that in April 2016, 958.35 million litres of white products was supplied into the country through the OPA arrangements which comprised of 909.04 million litres and 49.31 million litres of PMS and DPK respectively while 955.29 million litres was supplied in the month of March 2016; PMS and DPK receipt in March 2016 were 873.82 million litres and 81.48 million litres.
NNPC put the total crude processed by the three Refineries, for the month of April 2016 was 351,698MT (2,578,650 bbls) which translate to a combined yield efficiency of 89.70 per cent compared to crude processed in March 2016 of 329,396MT (2,415,131 bbls) with combined yield efficiency of 94.98 per cent.
It stated: “For the month of April 2016, the three Refineries produced 318,104MT of finished Petroleum Products out of 351,698MT of crude processed at a combined capacity utilization of 19.32 per cent compared to 17.51 per cent combined capacity utilization achieved in the month of March 2016.
“The improved performance was due to success achieved by the domestic refineries, for the first time in several months the three refineries operated concurrently.
“The petroleum products (PMS & DPK Only) production by the domestic refineries in April 2016 amounted to 233.54 million litres compared to 110.51 million litres in March 2016”.
Barring any last-minute change in plans, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, will today (Thursday) meet with Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of all the Deposit Money Banks in the country.
The meeting, which is scheduled to hold at the headquarters of the apex bank in Abuja, according to findings, may consider the massive sacking of workers in the banking sector.
A total of about 1,400 workers had so far been sacked between last week and Wednesday by Deposit Money Banks in a move to prune down the number of workforce in the sector.
The PUNCH had last week reported that Ecobank Nigeria sacked over 1,040 of its employees, while Diamond Bank Plc and Skye Bank also disengaged 200 and 175 members of their workforce respectively.
FBN Holdings, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, had recently said it would prune the number of its employees by 1,000.
Following the gale of job losses in the banking sector, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, had on Friday directed the banks to stop further sacking of workers.
The minister said that all the sacking done in the past four months should be put on hold pending the outcome of a proposed stakeholders’ summit for employers and employees of the banking, insurance and other financial institutions scheduled for the first week of July.
“Following the high spate of petitions and complaints from stakeholders in the banking, insurance and financial institutions, I hereby direct the suspension of the ongoing retrenchment in the sector pending the outcome of the conciliatory meetings in the industry,” Ngige had said.
But sources told our correspondent that the issue of mass sacking might feature prominently at Thursday’s meeting because of the fact that it had attracted the attention of the Federal Government.
A top official of one of the banks confided in our correspondent that while the decision to sack workers was a tough one, there was no way the DMBs could sustain the huge cost of operations following the drop in government patronage.
The source said, “You will recall that the banking sector has been in the spotlight due to the huge loss of jobs by bankers. The reason for this action is obvious when you consider the fact that the banks are no longer making huge profits the way they used to.
“A lot of stakeholders in the sector are concerned about this development and I am sure that this issue will be discussed at the Bankers’ Committee meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday at the CBN headquarters.”
Apart from the issue of mass sacking, it was gathered that the new foreign exchange policy would also be discussed at the meeting.
The apex bank is on the verge of releasing a new guideline on the management of foreign exchange in the country.
Emefiele had said the policy, when unveiled, would enable the CBN to retain a small window for critical transactions.
He gave some of such transactions as importation of vital machinery for production as well as essential basic raw materials critical for manufacturing, which by their nature could not be sourced locally.
A flexible exchange rate system is a monetary system that allows the exchange rate to be determined by supply and demand.
The implication of this is that with a high demand for the dollar in Nigeria, there is every likelihood that the naira will experience further decline.
The continuing pressure on the naira rose sharply on Wednesday with the local currency tumbling to a new low of 371 against the United States dollar at the parallel market. It had closed at 361 per dollar on Tuesday.
The delay by the Central Bank of Nigeria in explaining how the proposed flexible exchange policy will work has increased speculation on the currency.
Foreign exchange dealers and investors said the delay had caused uncertainty in the foreign exchange market and fuelled hoarding of hard currencies.
According to foreign exchange dealers at black markets in Lagos, Abuja and major airports across the country, the dollar was sold for between 367 and 373 on Wednesday.
Findings from various operators revealed that the local currency went for 371 against the greenback in most of the parallel market locations.
Abokifx.com, an online portal that monitors the movement of exchange rates at the parallel market, reported that the naira closed at 367 against the dollar.
However, the currency traded at 199.40 to the dollar on the official interbank market, within the CBN’s pegged rate band.
“Demand for the greenback has increased amidst growing scarcity as uncertainties created by the new policy have caused individuals to start to stock dollars,” the National President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Economic analysts said heightened political risks, evolving economic crisis and the CBN’s delay in unveiling its blueprint on the proposed forex policy were responsible for the fast depreciating rate of the naira at the parallel market.
An economic analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, said, “Foreign investors are fast losing confidence in the economy, seeing that they cannot bank on what the central bank says. It is almost two weeks now since the announcement of a new policy and yet, the blueprint has not been unveiled.
“Secondly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, just said that oil production had fallen significantly as a result of the disruption in the Niger Delta; this means a major drop in our forex earnings. So, this is an evolving economic crisis.”
Other analysts said the value of the local currency was dipping because customers were trying to hedge against a possible depreciation when the CBN clarifies its new forex policy.
The naira had closed at 357 against the greenback on Monday, before crashing to 361 on Tuesday.
The CBN had recently said it would abandon its naira peg to the dollar and introduce a flexible currency exchange regime.
It has not said how this will work, a situation that has unsettled investors who are worried about getting caught in the middle of a devaluation.
The CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee had two weeks ago announced the plan to adopt a flexible exchange rate. The Governor, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the blueprint for the proposed policy would be released soon.
The delay has, however, caused the stock market to record huge losses after recording landmark gains following the announcement of the plan to adopt the policy.
The central bank banned dollar sales to retail Bureaux De Change in January and reduced supply at its official interbank forex market in an effort to conserve reserves, now at their lowest level.
Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, CAP Plc, Airline Services and Logistics Plc, Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc and Nigerian Breweries emerged the top five losers at the close of trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday after the market lost N130bn.
A total of 28 stocks declined in value while only 16 appreciated.
The NSE market capitalisation slid to N9.306tn from N9.436tn, while the All-Share Index also fell to 27,098.18 basis points from 27,475.48 basis points.
A total of 261.008 million shares worth N1.215bn were traded in 3,591 deals.
Dangote Sugar shares closed at N6.33 from N6.80, losing N0.47 (6.91 per cent), while those of CAP depreciated by N1.88 (4.95 per cent) to close at N36.12 from N38.
Airline Services and Logistics also saw a N0.09 (4.92 per cent) drop in its share price to close at N1.74 from N1.83, while the shares of Portland Paints depreciated by N0.10 (4.88 per cent) to close at N1.95 from N2.05.
Nigerian Breweries shares closed at N130.01 from N136.53, losing N6.52 (4.78 per cent).
Other losers were Union Homes Savings And Loans Plc, Eterna Plc, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Skye Bank Plc, AxaMansard Insurance Plc, Continental Reinsurance Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Fidelity bank Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Nascon Allied Industries Plc, Law Union and Rocks Insurance Plc and FCMB Group Plc, among others.
On the other hand, Unity Bank Plc, Oando Plc, Forte Oil Plc, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc and NEM Insurance Company Nigeria Limited emerged to top five gainers.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation lost N19.43bn in the month of April, as the country’s crude oil production dropped from 59.27 million barrels recorded in February to 57.43 million barrels in March.
In its latest financial and operations report released on Wednesday, the NNPC also revealed that over 1,500 megawatts of electricity were lost as a result of the destruction of oil and gas facilities, adding that the capacity utilisation of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company plummeted from 25.65 per cent in March to 6.36 per cent in April.
The report stated, “The NNPC’s monthly financial and operations report indicate an operational loss of 19.43bn in April 2016 as against 18.89bn in the month of March 2016. The deficit increased by 2.83 per cent in the month of April 2016 due to slight decline in revenue generation, which is attributed to the decrease in petroleum product sales by 7.11 per cent.
“The NPDC’s crude sale for the month is still hampered by Forcados pipeline vandalism, which continued to deny the NPDC of monthly crude oil revenue of about 20.0bn.”
The oil firm stated that global crude oil spot prices increased by $3.41 per barrel in April to a monthly average of $40.75 per barrel, up from $37.34 in March and down from $57.54 in April 2015.
This, it said, represented an increase of 9.13 per cent from March 2016 and -29.18 per cent from April 2015, adding that the increase in the crude oil spot prices by $3.41 per barrel in April this year to a monthly average of $40.75 per barrel was the highest monthly average so far this year.
It stated, “Nigerian crude oil production for the month of March 2016 stood at 57.43 million barrels, which is 3.1 per cent lower than February 2016 production, and so far, the lowest recorded in the 12-month review period. Recent upsurge in vandalism has negatively impacted on the Nigerian crude oil production output, losing its African top crude oil producer to Angola.
“About 380,000barrels per day remained shut-in due to vandalism of the 48-inch subsea export line on 15th of February, 2016. Hence, all March cargoes were deferred until the repair is completed. Also, the nation has lost over 1,500MW of power supply to the damage as gas supply from Forcados, which is Nigeria’s major artery, accounts for 40 to 50 per cent of gas production. Incessant pipeline vandalism poses the greatest threat to the industry.”
The NNPC, however, noted that its leadership was already diligently addressing the corporation’s key business and operational challenges.
“For the first time, the NNPC was able to get the buy-in of the upstream companies operating in Nigeria to enhance domestic supply of refined petroleum products by indicating readiness to make available additional funding to support import of products,” it said.
The acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Waheed Olagunju has disclosed that a total sum of N83.5 billion was disbursed to 776 enterprises by the development finance institution in 2015. He said the interventions further helped to create over 400,000 jobs for Nigerians.
Speaking in Abuja at the bank’s 56th annual general meeting (AGM), he said in spite of the challenging global economy and the 2015 election anxiety with its attendant implication for the business environment, the bank still recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of N44.7 billion, which represented a 761 percent increase from N5.2 billion in 2014.
The bank’s financial statement for the period also showed it grew operating income by 161 percent to N70.7 billion from N27.1 billion while net loans grew by N1.7 billion to N572 billion within the period in review.
He said the bank will seek to further deepen its developmental impact in both core emerging sectors, drive service delivery excellence, and support the development to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country by leveraging strategic partnership, effectively managing enterprise risks as well as leveraging technology.
Olagunju said also disclosed that a total sum of N95 billion had so far been approved for disbursement to over 400 enterprises as at June this year. He added that bank was working assiduously to approving more loans in the second half of 2016 to meet institution’s disbursement target of N212 billion which could potentially creation up to 1 million jobs in addition to the 1.6 million projected under GEEP.
He said by a projection of 2.6 million jobs per annum BOI’s interventions could generate more than 10 million jobs over the next four years to reduce unemployment to single digit. Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah commended the bank for posting a sustained “impressive financial performance” since its inception 15 years ago.
The minister said he was also excited that BoI had started implementing the N140 billion Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) which is an aspect of the Federal Government’s N500 billion Social Intervention Package shortly after the 2016 budget was signed into law.
Under GEEP, the development finance bank was chosen by the federal government, given it antecedent, to identify and disburse soft loans to 1.6 million beneficiaries nationwide, mainly market women, youths, artisans and farmers.
He said BoI had brace up to the increasing responsibilities that were being assigned to fulfill the country’s economic development process, particularly in the implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) and the Government’s Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). Speaking at the AGM, the minister further extolled the efforts of management and staff for their commitment to taking the institution to greater heights, by embracing its core values and assiduously pursuing the bank’s vision, mission and mandate.
He, however, charged the bank to intensify efforts at mobilising suitable financial and non financial resources from within and outside the country for the transformation of Nigeria’s industrial sector in accordance with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP).
Specifically, he challenges the bank on processing and adding value to the country’s vast agricultural, solid minerals and petroleum resources among other areas of resource endowments and comparative advantage. He assured the bank that his ministry would continue to support its arduous task of transforming Nigeria’s industrial sector in the best interest of present and future generations.
The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, extended its gains on Tuesday, trading above the $50 per barrel mark for the first time since October last year.
The further rise in Brent comes as expectations the United States’ crude draws underpinned a market already worried about potential supply shortages from attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry. It hit $50 per barrel for the first time in 2016 on May 26.
The US crude stockpiles likely fell by 3.5 million barrels last week to mark a third straight week of declines, a preliminary Reuters poll showed.
Crude oil rallied in the past two sessions after militants in the Niger Delta vowed to halt output in Nigeria, which until last year was Africa’s top oil producer turning out about two million barrels per day.
“The market remains concerned about unscheduled supply interruptions with the latest coming from additional shut-ins in Nigeria,” a Senior Partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York, Dominick Chirichella, said.
“With the industry projecting a decline in total US crude oil stocks in this week’s reports, the market bears are remaining on the sidelines,” Chirichella added.
Brent, against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, was up by 55 cents at $51.08 at 6:20pm, after rising to $51.30 earlier, its highest level since October.
US crude’s West Texas Intermediate gained 40 cents to $50.09 per barrel, having touched a fresh 2016 peak of $50.37 earlier.
Both Brent and WTI have almost doubled in value since winter, when they hit their lowest since 2003.
Prices began recovering since end of February on talks of a production freeze by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which, however, did not materialise.
The rally heightened after last month’s wildfires in Canada’s oil sands region and also has been supported by supply outages elsewhere, including Nigeria, Venezuela and Libya.
The Chief Commodities Analyst at SEB, Bjarne Schieldrop, highlighted the positive impact on prices of further disruptions to crude supplies from Nigeria.
He said, “Nigeria’s crude is light and sweet, and of a comparable quality to Brent crude. It is also geographically close to where Brent crude is priced.
“For now, we expect the oil price to continue higher. Lost supply in Nigeria is likely to fluctuate, but the political and social nature of the problem calls for continued outages.”
Royal Dutch Shell Plc has said it won’t attempt to repair a key pipeline in Nigeria for now after militants attacked it a second time last week, according to Bloomberg.
Shell’s Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry, was quoted to have said that the company had to withdraw repair crews last week after a second attack against the 48-inch Forcados export pipeline.
The pipe links storage tanks onshore with an offshore port. Shell’s resignation over the disabled pipeline suggests a new level of insecurity as a wave of violence hits the oil-rich Niger Delta, leaving the country’s production at its lowest level in nearly three decades.
The US Energy Information Administration, in its short-term energy outlook, said production would fall by 830,000bpd this year to 8.6 million bpd, while it would drop next year by 410,000bpd to 8.19 million bpd.
With N120 billion already disbursed to power sector operators by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of its Development Finance intervention, there are about N93 billion more waiting for the appropriate time and tranche structure.
The intervention tagged Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF), was scripted to support operators to the tune of N213 billion in 2014, by CBN, in conjunction with the Bankers Committee- a forum of all the chief executives of banks in Nigeria, headed by serving apex bank governor.
Besides, the intervention is also a follow up to commitments it reached with stakeholders, particularly the Bankers Committee, to address debts owed by generating companies to gas suppliers.
Already, a breakdown of CBN’s interventions programmes showed that the Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) received N300 billion; the Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) got N220 billion; the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) got N75 billion; and the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilization Fund received N213 billion.
Others include the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) support at N50 billion for the Export Refinancing and Restructuring Facility; and the Non-oil Export Stimulation Facility that received N500 billion.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the fourth disbursement of the intervention fund marked a major milestone in the effort of the bank, in collaboration with the Federal Government to achieve a contract based electricity market in the country.
At the event, a fresh lifeline came the way of electricity Distribution Companies (Discos), Generation Companies (Gencos) and gas providers, as CBN disbursed N55.46 billion to the operators.
The development marked the resumption of the development financing scheme by CBN for the sector, which was suspended as a result of costs and pricing issues among Discos, Gencos and gas providers.
Meanwhile, the operators have expressed gratitude for the support and concern of government over their financial inability that has challenged their operational efficiency, but asked for increased disbursement.
A source close to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited told The Guardian that the company got less than N9 billion, while it was looking for N23 billion to smoothen operations and maintain its multiple power stations.
The source said the company has about six or seven power plants, amid gas supply challenges, which its price has remained an issue; sizeable workforce under its employ; recurring insurance payment; and power sector tariff that is impacting on revenue.
While commending the efforts aimed at assisting the sector operators, the source said it would have been better had the tranche been bigger, such that allocations could increase, but hoped that subsequent one would come soon, as well as raised up.
Also at the event, the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Activation by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) was signed to signal activation of industry contracts for power generation under a Contract Based Market.
However, Emefiele noted that one year into the progamme as at February 2016, N64 billion or 30 per cent of the facility earmarked has been disbursed to 18 participants- five distribution companies (N41.06 billion); seven generating companies (N18.46 billion); and six gas companies (N5.24 billion).
These companies committed to using the funds to upgrade/refurbish their equipment and acquire new ones so as to improve service delivery.
The facility was given at 10% interest rate and repayment has commenced.
The latest intervention, which brings total disbursement to N120.2 billion, include 24 industry participants- three Discos; 14 Gencos, NIPP inclusive; one service provider; and six gas companies to further address the challenges of the sector.
New entrants into the scheme are two Discos- Benin and Jos; and eight generating companies that include two IPPs- Agip/Okpai and Shell; and six NIPP plants-Alaoji, Geregu, Ihovbor, Olorunsogo II, Omotosho II and Sapele II.
A further breakdown of the disbursement a showed that total disbursements to date to Discos will now become N49.73 billion; Gencos, N54.29 billion; gas companies N15.73 billion; and service providers, N0.46 billion.
“Our review of the fund utilization and reports of impact by beneficiaries revealed that the intervention resulted in the restoration of a total of 905MW of power into the grid as a result of facility turn around maintenance, contribution of over 25 per cent of the annual capital expenditure budget for the sector.
“Specific reports from Gencos revealed that there was execution of capacity recovery programs in three hydro power stations- Intake under water repair project, overhaul of Unit IV, and compliant metering/supplementary protection at shiroro dam; overhaul of 2G6 at Jebba Hydro and rehabilitation of three units at kainji Dam under permitted utilizations of the facility.
“A total of 300MW capacity increase was reported as a result of fund utilization towards rehabilitation of both plants. Others were Rehabilitation of seven gas turbines at three major thermal power plants- Geregu, Transcorp Ughelli, and Ibom Power Plants,” Emefiele said.
He added that the intervention has also enabled Discos to provide bank guarantees to Nigerian Electricity Bulk Trader (NEBT), purchase of over 171,071 units of meters comprising both maximum demand and single-phase meters.
It also helped in the rehabilitation of over 332kms of 11KV lines and 130km of 0.45KV lines; 70,310 No 500 KVA transformers procurement and construction of 34 new distribution substations and acquisition of 1 mobile injection substation under confirmed permitted utilisation by the initiative.
The direct development intervention of CBN in the nation’s real sector was estimated at about N1.4 trillion, by February 2016, which at various times was accompanied by sustained credit stimulation efforts to enthrone a regime of “reasonable rates” in banks and for the good of small businesses.
The bank noted that the country has no choice now than to support real sector activities, as oil economy has crashed, reiterating that beside the primary roles of monetary, price and financial stabilities, the challenging economic issues globally have necessitated the adoption of developmental angle in regulating the system by emerging and developed economies, which it has also keyed into.
Of course, the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States and Bank of England have at various times directly intervened in boosting the fortunes their economies by injecting funds, subsidising rates and promoting the growth of different sectors.
For Emefiele, the far-reaching objectives of CBN’s implementation of the schemes and programmes for real sector was on the back of inherent potentials like huge employment capabilities, high growth opportunities, significant accretion to foreign reserves, expansion of the industrial base and apparent diversification of the national economy.
“The real sector as you know, is the engine of every economy, as it facilitates the production of raw materials, which add value to the domestic economy and consequently serves as a source of wealth creation and income generation to the productive population, the real sector also provides effective linkages among crucial sub-sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, power, financial services among others,” he said.
Union Bank Plc has pledged to drive its business priorities by focusing on growing deposit base, transactions income and clientele base in order to enhance profitability.
To achieve this, the bank plans to grow its trade and retail business, growing its public sector business in light of the opportunities created by the present administration, as well as driving more value chain synergies across its businesses in Nigeria and United Kingdom.
Addressing shareholders during the banks 47th yearly general meeting held in Lagos at the weekend, the Managing Director of the bank, Emeka Emuwa listed other areas of focus to include; proactively managing its risks, reducing operational costs, effectively utilising capital and managing liquidity to increase shareholders’ value.
“Today, we are a stronger Bank, better able to serve our customers with innovative products and professional services. We will continue to build on these successes, which are already starting to yields financial success for the bank,” he added.
The Chairman of the bank, Cyril Odu said; “The quality of our earnings is one of the critical pillars of Union Bank’s transformation efforts and the board and management are committed to delivering consistent growth in earnings to ensure that we are able to return to all shareholders in the near future.”
Odu, while reviewing the bank’s 2015 performance said the gross earnings for the Bank increased by eight per cent from N109.8 billion in 2014 to N118.4 billion in 2015. This includes N3.6 billion one-off gain on disposal of subsidiaries as we continued the implementation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulation.
The bank, according to him, recorded a profit before tax increase, from N14.4 billion in 2014 to N14.6 billion in 2015, while operating expenses reduced by two per cent fromN57.2 billion to N56 billion in 2015.
He added that customers deposits went up by 12 per cent to N569.1 billion from N507.4 billion in 2014, which, according to him, reflect increase customer confidence in the Bank, and loans and advances also increased by 15 per cent to N349 billion.
The shareholders of the bank urged the management to do everything within its powers to pay dividend to shareholders, noting that the bank paid dividend last in 2008.
They also urged the bank to intensify efforts in its loan recovery in order to increase its deposit base and pay dividend to shareholders in the nearest future.
Specifically, a shareholder, Olatunji Okelana urged the bank to intensify efforts on recoveries in order to increase profitability.
He also expressed the need for the bank to ensure that all the subsidiaries are contribution to the overall growth of the bank.
