22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 15, 2019 FINANCIAL VANGUARD From left, Peter Oyin Affen – Honourable Judge High Court of The FCT Abuja, Mr. UK Eke – Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings Plc, Sir Ndukwe Osogho-Ajala, MD, Soulmate Industries and wife Lady Ijeoma Ndukwe-Ajala, Mr. Thomas Areola, Chairman ICS, Outsourcing Limited at Sheraton Hotels Ikeja, Lagos yesterday during the book presentation: Soul Mate & Ndukwe Osogho-Ajala, The Uncommon Story of a Nigerian Entrepreneur. Nigerians abandon 10m bank accounts in H1’19 By Elizabeth Adegbesan NIGERIANS abandoned 10 million bank accounts in the first half of 2019 (H1’19) prompting the number of inactive bank accounts to rise sharply by 26 percent, year-on-year, during the period. Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, disclosed this in the June 2019 edition of its ‘Industry Customer Bank Account Data’, which also showed that Nigerians opened 10.97 million bank accounts within the same period. The NIBSS data showed that the number of inactive bank accounts rose to 49.4 million in H1’19 from 39 million in H1’18. On quarterly basis, the number of inactive bank accounts rose by five percent in the second quarter of the year, Q2’19, from 46.89 million in Q1’19. On the other hand, the number of active bank accounts rose by 0.82 percent to 72.97 million in H1’19 from 72.3 million in H1’18. However, quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), the number of active bank accounts dropped by 1.1 million or 1.4 percent to72.97 million in Q2’19 from 74.03 million in Q1’19. Further analysis revealed that Unity Bank supports mentorship for 600 young professionals UNITY Bank Plc has thrown its weight behind the 2019 YP(Young Professionals) Lagos capacity building workshop, which featured mentorship of 600 young, courageous and ambitious professionals by 60 Captains of industry in Lagos.The programme is an avenue for the participants to build potential career defining relationships with mentors found among industry chieftains facilitating different roundtables. According to the organizers, the YP capacity building workshop is exclusively targeted at young professionals of 35 years old and below, who in their professional or career pursuits are already budding entrepreneurship initiatives. “We therefore convocated 60 breakfast roundtables to create interaction, experience and knowledge sharing in addition to giving opportunity for participants to benefit from consulting with captains of industry after the workshop”, Wale Adenuga, promoter of Unboxed Conferences and YP, Lagos has stated. Commenting on the lender’s support for the programme, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Unity Bank, Mrs. Tomi Somefun said the bank is interested in this program due of its transformative and pivotal concept in promoting young professionals in the Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) space which is well in line with the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP). She stated that Unity Bank has a technology-driven banking platform, a lifestyle product with an innovative app known as UniFi that appeals to undergraduates, young school leavers and professionals in early career life, as well as young and educated craftsmen setting up workshops and businesses to achieve their aspirations, adding that the mentorship outreach connects with the Bank’s youth market proposition. Mrs. Somefun therefore shared the optimism that the creativity of participants has received a boost from our interactions in this workshop. Her words: “There are so many challenges associated with berthing a business in the country but by plugging into the ideas and experiences shared by captains of industry in this workshop, the minds of the young professionals has opened to a whole new world of opportunities to enable them start building businesses if they have not started already, and equally deepen their market base to even grow beyond micro, Small and Medium level they might have been operating”. The 2019 YP, Lagos is a relaxing atmosphere created for10 people with an industry leader sitting around to take and answer questions and share insights on various aspects of entrepreneurship as well as guidance on ways to overcome challenges over a breakfast table that has been set up. the number of current accounts grew by 20 percent to 29.28 million in H1’19 from 24.4 million in H1’18 while the number of savings accounts rose by seven percent to 89.8 million from 83.9 million in H1’18. On quarterly basis, the number of current accounts rose by 3.0 percent to 29.28 million in Q2’19 from 28.56 million in Q1’19 while the number of savings accounts rose slightly by 0.81 percent to 89.8 million in Q2’19 from 89.05 million in Q1’19. Access Bank moves to ease access to CBN's creative sector loans ACCESS Bank Plc has organised a sensitisation programme for players in the creative industry with a view to making access to the CBN Creative Sector Intervention Fund, CIFI, more seamless. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, recently rolled out the CIFI as part of its efforts to open up the creative sector and improve its contribution to the economy. The CBN has already earmarked N20 billion for disbursement in the first phase of the exercise with three to 10 years pay back plan and maximum of nine percent interest rate per annum. The Fund, targeted at players in fashion, information technology, movie production, movie distribution, music and software engineering student loan, has the main objective of creating 10,000 jobs in the next five years. The Access Bank Creative Sector Loan forum brought together players from four sectors of the creative industry namely music, movie, fashion and information technology. Speaking at the forum, Executive Director, Business Banking at Access Bank, Mrs. Chizoma Okoli, said: “Access Bank, being the first bank to have success- fully submitted its application to the CBN, understands the necessary documentation required to access this loan. This is why the bank put together this twoday forum to help our customers by simplifying and guiding them through the loan process" Also speaking at the forum, a member of the Banker’s Committee, Mr. Abidemi Adebayo, Access Bank Zonal Head Business Banking Division, Lekki, explained that, “The CBN reviewed the creative sector, and found that the sector had a lot of employment potentials. So, it identified four key components - music, movies, IT and fashion and invited key players in the industry for a discussion to understand the issues plaguing each of these sector. This resulted in the creation of the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) which is aimed at boosting job creation, scaling up capacity and driving growth for the industry. “We are gathered here today at the Access Bank Creative Sector Loan forum to make sure we help you, our customers, understand how the loan works and to ensure seamless access to the loan.” Fidelity private bank wins at PWM Global Wealth tech awards FIDELITY Bank has emerged winner of the ‘Best Digital Networking Bank for Entrepreneurs’ at the Africa 2019’ at 2019 PWM Wealth Tech awards held in London, United Kingdom. “Organized by Professional Wealth Management (PWM), a Financial Times Publication, the awards celebrate excellence in wealth management technology. “The award presented at an elaborate ceremony in London, was received on behalf of the bank GUARANTY Trust Bank, GTBank Plc has been named the Best Bank in Africa 2019 by Euromoney at its annual Awards for Excellence, which held in London. The bank was also named the Best Bank in Nigeria for a record ninth time, reflecting the Bank’s position as one of the best managed financial institutions in the country, with strong and focused leadership that keep the business in a constant state of re-invention and innovation. Now in its 50th year, Euromoney is the leading publication for covering the growth of international finance. Euromoney's Awards for Excellence are the awards that matter to the banks and by the Chief Operations and Information Officer (COIO), Fidelity Bank, Mr. Gbolahan Joshua and Divisional Head, Private Banking, Mrs. Chioma Nwankwo. “ Commenting on the development, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said it was gratifying to see that Private Banking Division of the bank, set up over two decades ago, has remained the leading provider of financial services to HNIs in the country. In line with the bank’s digitisation programme, he said Fidelity Bank has continued to seek better, easier and more convenient ways of providing financial services, with the aid of technology, to its teeming customers. “Our resolve to continue to offer innovative solutions to all customers, including those of our Private Banking Division, is further strengthened by this award and recognition” he stated. GTBank named best bank in Africa at Euromoney awards bankers who matter. Commenting on the Bank’s Euromoney awards, the Chief Executive Officer of GTBank, Segun Agbaje, said “We are delighted and proud to win the Euromoney Awards for Africa’s Best Bank and Nigeria’s Best Bank. These awards reflect the progress we are making in delivering the best banking experience that captures what customers want in the world of today and tomorrow. They are also a testament to our leading role in driving world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation in Africa’s banking industry." He further stated that; “At GTBank, we are passionate about building the bank of the future by leveraging the best of technology to add real value to our customers’ lives, and these awards illustrate the hard work and commitment of our staff, management and board towards achieving this goal." Key to the emergence of GTBank as the Best Bank in Africa and the Best Bank in Nigeria is the Bank's digital drive and its clarity of vision in reimagining the future of banks and banking. The Euromoney awards also recognized GTBank's commitment to leading the future of banking as well as its consistent long-term strategy led by a senior management team that abhors complacency and keeps the business in a constant state of innovation.
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