Banking updates

Oil companies must produce crude oil at $10 per barrel or close shop—says NNPC …target is $10 per barrel by end 2021   On  Jun 10, 2020   Share The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has warned that companies that cannot bring their production cost to $10 per barrel come end of fiscal 2021 should close. Mele Kyari, group managing director of the corporation said companies must learn how to be efficient, be cost-effective and do away with expenses that are not necessary, stating that there are costs embedded into projects by contractors which are not realisable. The NNPC boss who spoke on ‘the Impact of COVID19 on the Nigerian oil and gas – the way forward’ at a Webinar conference organized by National Association of Petroleum Exploration (NAPE) said that $10 per barrels cost of production is now the expectation of the industry by end 2021. This he said is realisable as new cost structures are being put in place at the moment. He bemoaned the apparent lack of efficien...

Access Bank Plc has revealed its intention to embark on mass retrenchment of staff, pay cut for the rest of its workforce and closure of several of its branches nationwide as measures against the sweeping adverse impact of COVID-19 on the lender. Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the bank, said in an Instagram video that the “difficult decision” was inevitable and necessary in order to “protect our franchise and make us stronger as we go into the future. “We probably don’t need as many security men as required even to the fact that we are not going to have all our branches open between now and December. “We certainly don’t need all the security men. We don’t need all the tea girls. We don’t need all the cleaners. We don’t need all the tellers etc. Read also:  NSE: Bull run continues as market capitalisation nears the N12trn mark “So that number of staff, which represents seventy five per cent of our staff strength, I think is one that we basically need to speak wi...

CBN Policy Response The dual shock of the COVID-19 Pandemic and sharp decline in the price of crude oil is having a significant impact on Nigeria’s economy and the Nigerian government continues to roll out measures to address these health and economic challenges. This note is the first in a series focusing on the financial services sector and will highlight the regulatory interventions and policy statements made by the Central Bank of Nigeria in furtherance of its financial stability mandate. CBN Regulatory Interventions The CBN has made a number of interventions to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. These interventions include the creation of a N50 billion credit facility targeted at households and SMEs affected by the pandemic, a N100 billion credit facility specifically aimed at the healthcare sector to meet potential increased demand for healthcare products and services, and a one year moratorium and reduced interest rate for existing CBN intervention facilities (for exa...

NGN USD BUY / SELL GBP BUY / SELL EUR BUY / SELL 18/05/2020 440 / 455* 525 / 535* 450 / 465* 15/05/2020 440 / 455 525 / 535 450 / 465 14/05/2020 435 / 450 530 / 540 450 / 460 13/05/2020 430 / 450 525 / 535 440 / 455    get more of such @ tobisam.blogspot.com

IN DEPTH This article is part of the dossier: Corona Chronicles: 6 April – 10 April By  Oluwatosin Adeshokan, in Lagos Posted on Monday, 6 April 2020 09:47 People queue at an ATM, as authorities try to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Abuja, Nigeria 30 March 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde Nigeria's Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna have announced lockdowns and other restrictions to movement. In these cities, retail banking operations are expected to grind to a halt. Around the country, banks are announcing that branches outside of locations already on lockdown will be running skeletal operations. In the case of Standard Chartered Bank and a few other banks, they will be closing by 3pm daily. While Nigeria has one of Africa’s largest economies, large portions of the economy are in the informal sector and depend on cash. Although the central bank has touted a ‘cashless’ policy for years, several new policies have made that policy muddled. But, in countries like Kenya wh...

One of Nigeria’s biggest banks, GTBank is restructuring to take on the fintech industry  2020 Share this article There’s an ongoing consolidation in the Nigerian banking scene. Zenith Bank and Union Bank, two of the country’s biggest banks are reportedly having merger talks. First Bank, Nigeria’s oldest and biggest bank, is planning to acquire two smaller banks. But the most interesting move is coming from Guarantee Trust Bank (GTBank), another too big to fail bank. GTBank wants to restructure as a holdings company. Its CEO, Segun Agbaje, made the disclosure during the bank’s earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2019. A holding company is a form of  financial organization  that owns a controlling interest in other businesses, called subsidiaries. For GTBank, the restructuring will allow the bank to develop other businesses beyond pure banking, he said. Before 2012, GTBank operated a number of non-banking services. It operated GTB Asset Management for capital market ser...