BusinessDay 16 Apr 2018

A16
NEWS
Coronation Merchant Bank records
66% growth in gross earnings
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
We will not betray your confidence
in us, Buhari tells Nigerians
TONY AILEMEN, Abuja
BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
In spite of the tough operating
environment
witnessed in the financial
market in 2017,
Coronation Merchant Bank
Group recorded 66 percent
increase in gross earnings to
N25.5 billion in full year 2017
financial result, as against
N15.2 billion recorded in the
previous year.
Aside the strong earnings
performance, the Group recorded
a significant growth
in its balance sheet in 2017.
Total assets increased by
28 percent to N136.7 billion
from N106.6 billion in
December 2016, and shareholder’s
funds increased to
N29.5 billion from N25.9 billion
- a valid testament to the
resilience of the Group’s operations
and its adaptability
to current market realities
and challenges.
“The impressive results
of the bank in the last three
years demonstrate the effectiveness
of our strategy, the
quality of our past decisions
and the commitment of our
board and management to
maximise shareholder value
whilst actively expanding
our franchise in select, high
growth markets where we
believe we have a competitive
advantage,” Abu Jimoh,
CEO of the bank, said.
The bank’s interest income
growth of 67 percent
year/year and non-interest
income growth of 57 percent
in 2017 reaffirm the sustain-
President Muhammadu
Buhari has assured
Nigerians living
in the United Kingdom
(UK) that his administration
will work to justify
Nigerian’s confidence in his
administration.
The President speaking in
London on Sunday while receiving
the Buhari Diaspora
Support Organisation, led by
Efe Sylvester, assured, “We
will do our best to justify your
trust in us, and that confidence
won’t be abused.”
A statement by special
adviser to the President on
media and publicity, Femi
Adesina, said the President
expressed happiness that the
country had people who were
ready to defend her.
“You have shown courage
and sacrifice. I assure you that
your confidence in us won’t
be abused, we will do our best
to justify it,” he said.
The group, a new force
set up to counter the activities
of other Nigerians who
had been engaging in protest
against the President at the
Nigeria House in London,
had expressed their confidence
in the current administration’s
efforts to rebuild the
country.
ability of its core business
growth. “We will continue
to gain momentum in our
efforts to achieve more diversified
earnings, as we
strengthen our subsidiaries
offerings,” Jimoh said at the
annual general meeting held
at the weekend in Lagos.
Despite the high inflation
rate, cost-to-income ratio
increased marginally by 90
basis points to 46.1 percent
compared to 45.2 percent in
December 2016, reaffirming
the bank’s commitment to
rein in costs while improving
operating efficiency.
“We remain committed
to providing our clients with
superior financial services
whilst generating attractive
and sustainable returns for
shareholders.”
The bank recorded
growth in loan book by 42
percent to N32.3 billion in
2017 from N22.7 billion in
2016.
“While general economic
conditions and the regulatory
environment remain
tight, we believe that our
new business and lending
strategies, embedded risk
management culture and
continuous cost savings
will enable us stand firm
throughout this period”.
“In the coming years, we
will focus on the disciplined
implementation of our
growth strategy to drive efficiency
in all segments of our
business leveraging fintech
and process re-engineering,”
Jimoh said.
The President, who noted
that Nigeria was gifted with
tremendous human and natural
resources, however, regretted
that “failure of some of
the leadership we had in the
past led to our not being able
to capitalise on resources to
improve the lot of the people.”
For him, “wicked people
plundered the country, and
kept Nigerians poor. Looking
at the condition in which the
current administration met the
country, without savings and
the economy badly vandalised,
“we have not done too badly.”
He reiterated that the
damage done to the Nigerian
economy in the years of plunder
was massive, and that government
was doing its best to
recover some of the loot, but
noted that it was impossible
to identify and recover all.
“If they had used 50% of
the money we made, when
oil prices went as high as
$143 dollars per barrel, and
stabilized at $100 dollars
with production at 2.1 million
barrels per day for many
years, Nigerians would have
minded their businesses. You
could almost grow food on
our roads, as they were abandoned.
The stealing was so
much, and they were so inept
that they could not even cover
the stealing properly.”
Emefiele says AGSMEIS funds
to reach N60bn by June
… 358 entrepreneurs benefit as CBN, Bankers’ Committee commence disbursement
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE & ONYINYE NWACHUKWU
Funds pooled by the
commercial lenders
under the Agribusiness/Small
and
Medium Enterprises
Investment Scheme (AGS-
MEIS) is already in excess of
N26 billion, and is expected
to exceed N60 billion by June
2018, CBN governor, Godwin
Emefiele, said as disbursements
of the funds began in
Abuja, last week.
The flag off saw the disbursement
of about N118
million to 358 beneficiaries
under the scheme that seeks
to reasonably cut the present
high unemployment rates in
the country.
The beneficiaries are
youths who have been
trained on various entrepreneurship,
vocational and
management skills across the
country by Entrepreneurship
Development Institutions
Paga celebrates
9th year
anniversary
Paga is celebrating
its ninth anniversary
as Nigeria’s first
and leading mobile
money company. Founded
by CEO, Tayo Oviosu in
April 2009, Paga has provided
easy means for simple
mobile money transfers,
bill payments and
provision of financial services
to over 8 million users
on their platform through
the years.
Since 2009, Paga has
created meaningful financial
technology that has led
the drive for financial inclusion
which aims to bank
over 70 million unbanked
and underbanked Nigerians
leveraging its web
channels, mobile apps and
short code (*242#).
Paga has pioneered the
mobile money industry
objective by creating what
is recognized as the single
largest shared active agent
network in Nigeria with
over 14,000 agents. These
agent outlets are widespread
across the 36 states
in Nigeria and they enable
millions of Nigerians
to perform simple money
transfers and pay bills for
life and business.
Notable businesses and
organizations like Dangote
foundation, Ikeja Electric,
Eko Distribution Company,
JAMB, WAEC, UK
Immigration among many
more companies have leveraged
the reach and impact
of Paga to achieve payment
collections and bulk
disbursements.
and Centres, such as Fate
Foundation, Lagos Business
School, House of Tara and
Thrive Agric.
The Bankers’ Committee
had, at its meeting on February
9, 2017, came up with
the AGSMEIS to improve
access to affordable financing
for MSMEs, particularly
those operating in the informal
sector of the economy,
and to support the Federal
Government’s efforts and
policy measures to promote
sustainable economic development
and employment
generation.
As a commitment to the
successful implementation
of the scheme, all deposit
money banks, voluntarily
agreed to set aside and
contribute 5 percent of their
profit after tax (PAT) annually
to finance eligible projects
under the scheme.
Quoting data from the
National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS), Emefiele said the rate
of unemployment in Nigeria
worsened marginally during
the third quarter of 2017, and
that this raised concerns and
risks for the collective peace
and progress across the nation.
He noted that one of the
most effective ways to tackle
this scourge was through entrepreneurship
development
and easy access to affordable
financing, which according
to him, has been a huge challenge
to entrepreneurship
development in the country
today.
He regretted the financial
intermediaries’ apathy to
youth entrepreneurship and
start-ups, which are usually
perceived as being too risky,
lacking relevant managerial
skills and not possessing adequate
collaterals acceptable
for conventional credit.
He said the situation
therefore led the Bankers’
Monday 16 April 2018
Committee Retreat, to design
and fund a suitable scheme
that will not only reduce the
huge financing gap for Macro
Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs), but also
fully commits to the pursuits
of job creation, financial inclusion
and inclusive growth
for Nigerians, particularly the
teeming youth population.
The AGSMEIS has been
designed to be implemented
in three broad components,
namely Direct, Indirect and
Developmental components.
Under the Direct component
of the AGSMEIS, beneficiaries
can access loans to a
limit of N10 million, at interest
rate of 5 percent per annum
and a maximum tenor
of up to seven years. There is
also a moratorium period of
18 months on principal and
six months on interest element,
depending on the nature
of the business.