18032019 - APC, PDP attack INEC over Bauchi, Adamawa gov polls

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2019
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Changing geopolitical environment offers growth
opportunities for businesses — Standard Bank
By Babajide Komolafe
STANDARD Bank of
South Africa, the parent
company of Nigeria’s Stanbic
IBTC Bank Plc, has called on
African businesses to leverage
the growth opportunities
offered by the changing
geopolitical realities triggered
by Brexit and the trade tension
between the United States and
China.
The bank noted that beyond
the growing division and
unilateralism behind the US,
China trade tension and
Brexit, there is increasing shift
towards integration and
multilateralism in the
developing world, which
present opportunities for
partnerships and growth.
“Every corporate and every
country needs to be aware of
changing geopolitical realities
and the opportunities that
these present for new
partnerships and growth,”
says Vinod Madhavan, Head
of Trade at Standard Bank, in
a presentation entitled,
“Technology steadily
deepening international trade
as global multilateral
leadership shifts East”.
He said, “the United States–
China trade war has already
seen China, the world’s largest
consumer of soya beans, halt
imports from the United States.
This presented a huge
opportunity for countries like
South Africa. While Australia,
in the end, was the main
beneficiary of this shift, other
opportunities are likely to arise
for Africa. Similar opportunities
are also likely to emerge with
both the United Kingdom and
the European Union following
Brexit. African businesses and
governments would do well to
begin positioning themselves
to leverage these
opportunities.”
Citing the opportunities
offered by emerging market
credit stress, he said: “This is
especially so for financial
services organisations able to
help corporates distribute risk
across both their own balance
sheets while also broadening
distribution to other
development and trade finance
institutions. Standard Bank for
example, uses its South African
balance sheet as credit risk
intermediary for trade across
the continent. Beyond its
balance sheet the bank is also
able to broaden distribution by
working with multilaterals
such as the African Export-
Import Bank, African
Development Bank or the
International Finance
Corporation.
“Emerging market credit
stress also presents an
opportunity to re-configure
lending and risk distribution
relationships within the
developing world. The signing
of the African Continental
Free Trade Area, AfCFTA,
agreement increases the
opportunity for the continent to
significantly increase intra-
African lending and risk
distribution. Botswana’s
recently announced $600
million Zimbabwe loan
provides an example of how,
post-AfCFTA, local African
markets will more likely be
even better positioned to
understand and manage
African debt and risk. “When
one overlays these
developments with
technology, even more of what
we currently consider risks
could, in fact, become
opportunities.”
From left: Registrar/CEO, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, Seye Awojobi,
FCIB; Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, President/Chairman of
Council, CIBN, Dr Uche Olowu, FCIB and Deputy Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc,
Roosevelt Ogbonna during the stakeholder engagement visit to Access Bank by CIBN.
AMCON mulls disengagement of
non-performing AMPs
ASSET Management
Corporation of Nigeria,
AMCON, has hinted that it
would disengage Asset
Management Partners, AMPs,
that cannot cope with the
speed and enormous
challenges of debt recovery
expected by the corporation.
Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer, AMCON,
Mr. Ahmed Lawan Kuru, who
gave this hint added that the
corporation may assign more
accounts to AMPs that have
shown aggression and zeal
based on the review of the
AMP scheme so far. He was
speaking at the 2019 edition
of the AMCON/AMPs
Interactive/Feedback session
in Abuja.
AMPs, are consortiums
appointed by AMCON after
a rigorous selection process
with specialist skills required
Union Bank hosts Financial Markets Dealers Association meeting
UNION Bank recently
hosted the quarterly
general meeting of the Financial
Markets Dealers Association,
FMDA, in Lagos.
The meeting was an
opportunity for treasurers of
Money Deposit Banks, MDBs,
market players and their
institutions to exchange ideas,
share information and deepen
business relationships for the
development of the financial
markets.
Union Bank’s Head of
Corporate Banking and
Treasury, Mr. Emeka
Okonkwo and other Senior
Executives were joined by
dignitaries including the
Governor-elect of Lagos State,
Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu
represented by Mr. Yomi
Oluyomi and the President,
Chartered Institute of Bankers
of Nigeria, CIBN, Dr. Uche
Olowu.
The programme featured an
informative presentation by an
economist, Dr. Doyin Salami on
the topic ‘Navigating the Next
Level for the Economy and
Markets’. Dr. Salami shared
insights into the 2019 economic
outlook, to assist market
players and Union Bank
customers as they position
themselves for the year.
Delivering his remarks, Mr.
Okonkwo, who spoke on behalf
of the CEO of Union Bank,
highlighted the key role of the
FMDA in boosting the growth
and development of the
financial markets and the
Nigerian economy. He also
stated; “This year, we expect
the economy to be influenced
by a number of trends on the
global and local scenes.
Therefore, a key element of our
success as individual
organisations and also at the
macroeconomic level, is insight
into the potential impact of
these trends on the financial
markets and economy.”
to ensure recovery and debt
resolution; banking, legal,
valuation and accounting.
Kuru said that collaborating
with AMPs became
necessary because
AMCON has a total loan
portfolio of over 12,000 loans
of various sizes and sectors
that are still lingering many
years after the corporation
was established. He stated
that when this is compared
to AMCON’s staff strength,
it became obvious that the
corporation surely needed a
strategic approach to
improve coverage, recovery
and results.
Kuru also disclosed that the
AMPs are currently handling
over 6,000 accounts within
AMCON portfolio. Although
in terms of weight, the
accounts, which have been
outsourced to AMPs
constitute only 20 percent
or N740billion of the total
EBA portfolio of
N3.7trillion. AMCON he
insisted places equal
importance on the recovery
efforts as they count towards
the achievement of the
corporation’s core mandate.
Heritage Bank
tasks HB LAB
start-ups on
ICT leadership
HERITAGE Bank Plc has
charged applicants of
HB Lab start-ups to support
Nigeria’s aspiration and
roadmap to become a leading
Information Communication
Technology (ICT) hub in
Africa.
Executive Director of the
bank, Jude Monye disclosed
this at the launch of the
maiden edition of the new
innovation-driven concept, HB
LA, in Lagos.
Monye commended the 10
teams of contestants who
made it to the LAB, whilst
charging them to replicate the
Rwanda’s ICT digital tech
system feats.
He, however, canvassed for
indigenous production of
advanced technological
systems, as against leaving the
core job in the hands of
foreigners.
Addressing the applicants,
Monye said, as usual, the
financial powerhouse is known
for supporting and sponsoring
investment ideas that have the
potency of challenging the
status quo with the motive of
impacting positively on the
critical sectors of the nation’s
economy.
According to him, the
management of Heritage Bank
is always seeking viable
business ideas that could
compliment the fiscal policies
of the government with the
ultimate aim of growing and
developing the aggregate
economy.
“At Heritage Bank, we help
aspiring entrepreneurs to
create, preserve and transfer
wealth. What we are gathered
here for today, is another
moment of innovation-driven
concept that is expected to
provide start-up enterprises
with enabling environment,
resources and support
required to innovate and
accelerate impactful solutions
for the economic development
drives,” he said.
For this maiden edition,
Monye explained that
Heritage Bank has ceded the
professional handling of the
12-week competition to a
consultancy firm adding this
was done to allow for
professionalism, fair-play and
objectivity.
He further stated that his
management was not really
particular about any sector of
the economy, as the winner
could emerge from any
industry as long as his
proposal is strong enough to
impact positively on the
various sectors. His words:
“We are not zeroing in on any
particular idea or industry; we
are more interested in the
result achievable in different
sectors.”