Finance
Stakeholders reach final decision on Access, Diamond Banks merger
By: Justice Godfry
Shareholders of Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc, on Tuesday, unanimously approved the merger of both financial institutions aimed at creating a formidable force.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the shareholders gave the approval at an Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) of both banks held in Lagos.
Mr Herbert Wigwe, Access Bank Chief Executive Officer, told the shareholders at the EGM that the merger with Diamond Bank enables Access Bank to acquire a bank with 17 million retail customers and the most viable mobile payment platform.
Wigwe said that the expected revenue and cost synergies were material and promises significant long term value.
Wigwe said the bank, after the merger, would attract more opportunities such as trade finance from international partners.
“With the final merger of both banks and the status of the resulting entity as ‘the largest bank in Africa’s largest economy,’ this greatly bolsters the bank’s brand, opening doors of opportunity both in local and international markets,” he said.
Wigwe said the merger was expected to produce the largest banking group in Africa based on its number of customers with more than 29 million customers.
“The resulting entity which will maintain the brand name Access Bank, but with Diamond Bank colors, will have more than 29 million customers, 13 million of which are mobile customers,” he said.
Wigwe said the bank would be a continental force with presence in 12 countries, 3,100 ATMS and nearly 32, 000 Point of Sale.
“As a continental financial force, it is set to attract more opportunities such as trade finance from international partners seeking multinational lenders with local intelligence,” he said.
He said Diamond bank merging with “Access Bank also means, the former’s customers can enjoy access to the latter’s strong balance sheet, ubiquitous presence and solid operational structure.”
“Diamond Bank has formidable retail business with the largest retail customer base in Nigeria – over 17 million customers. Diamond Bank also has a track record of customer acquisition and low cost liabilirties generation.
“The enlarged Access Bank will serve 27 million retail customers, almost double the number customers of any other bank in Nigeria and more than any other bank in Africa,” Wigwe said.
He noted that the enlarged Access Bank’s breath scale and product range will further accelerate the financial inclusion agenda that Access Bank and Diamond Bank had pursued separately.
Wigwe, however, assured enlarged shareholders of the bank that dividend would be more robust and consistent after the exercise.
Mr Adebayo Adeleke of Independent Shareholders Association (ISAN) commended the management of Access Bank for not shortchanging shareholders on the scheme of the merger.
“Quiet a lot of commendable things have been put in place and we hope court will have no other reason not to agree on the merger,” Adeleke said.
Adeleke said that the shareholders were in support of the plan that would give birth to one of the largest bank in Africa.
“We are here to make sure we sanction this wedding and hope to see a marriage of a formidable force,” he said.
He said that shareholders would want to see the birth and growth of new bank that would take challenges and takeover the entire world.
To the President, Trusted Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria (TSAN), Alhaji Muktar Muktar, “we thank Access Bank for saving us from Diamond Bank by giving us a good deal.
Muktar said that the bank gave them the best deal which was above Diamond Bank price on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Sir Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator (Emeritus), ISAN, who also commended Access Bank for the merger, called for special dividend to cushion the effects of dilution on shareholders.
Nwosu said integration would not be a problem for Access Bank because it had managed many “marriages” in the past.
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has announced today that its online merchants in Nigeria can now accept American Express payments.
American Express Card Members – with consumer, business, or corporate cards – will be able to make payments directly to e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave in Nigeria.
This service will also be available to Flutterwave merchants in other countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda in the near future.
This collaboration facilitates online transactions and offers a range of benefits for both merchants and online shoppers:
- Flutterwave merchants can attract business from a new customer base of American Express Card Members in Africa and around the world. This includes consumers with personal cards and spenders with business or corporate products. Terms and conditions apply.
- For shoppers, there is more choice when it comes to being able to select their preferred method of payment when transacting with Flutterwave merchants. This collaboration strengthens the American Express global network and increases the number of locations across Africa that can be used by American Express Card Members to purchase a range of different goods and services.
Speaking on the development, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Founder and CEO, Flutterwave, said:“At Flutterwave, we’re always looking for ways to connect the world to Africa through payments. This is one of our initiatives to ensure that more people across the world can pay using Flutterwave in Africa. We understand the value of providing shoppers with payment methods that work for them, as well as helping businesses to expand their customer bases. This collaboration also provides more options of where to shop and what to buy to American Express card holders across the globe. By offering American Express as a method of payment, Flutterwave will make the payment process faster and simpler for American Express card holders, and improve the experience for e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave, helping them to start locally and sell globally.”
On his part, Briana Wilsey, Vice President and General Manager of Global Network Services EMEA at American Express, said: “American Express continues to expand in Africa to enable greater payment choice for businesses and consumers. Through the agreement with Flutterwave, a trusted payment provider, we are giving e-commerce merchants in Nigeria the opportunity to reach American Express Card Members around the world. The collaboration is a win-win because it also increases the number of places where our Card Members can use their Cards in Nigeria.”
Flutterwave and American Express share similar visions; to enable businesses across the world to expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets through a platform that enables local and cross-border transactions via one Application Programming Interface (API).
Flutterwave has processed over 630M transactions in excess of USD $31B, serves global and African customers like Uber, Air Peace, Bamboo, PiggyVest, and across various industries. On the other hand, American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.
…Posts N3.3trn Net Profit, Declares N2.1trn Dividend
…Targets 2mbpd Crude Oil Production by December 2024
The NNPC Limited has released its 2023 Audited Financial Statement (AFS), declaring a net profit of N3.297 trillion at the close of the financial year which ended in December 2023, an increase of over N700billion (28%) when compared to the 2022 profit of N2.548trillion.
In a world press conference held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, Mr. Umar Ajiya said the release of the AFS is a testament to the Company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“Our fiscal performance reflects both strategic foresight and operational resilience. Despite inherent challenges of our operational and economic environment, we have improved the productivity and the financial performance of this great company,” Ajiya stated.
Ajiya added that posting such impressive returns demonstrates NNPC Ltd’s commitment to sustaining profitability and supporting the attainment of national energy security as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and by extension, as expected by the Company’s shareholders.
Explaining that the NNPC Ltd will announce Initial Public offer (IPO) once the shareholders and Board make a decision, Ajiya also debunked claims on subsidy payment, saying the Company was only taking care of the shortfall on PMS importation between it and the Federation.
Speaking earlier at the press conference, the Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure said that the excellent performance came as the fruit of the PIA 2021, the commitment of the Board, Management and staff of the company.
Akinyelure added that the shareholders of the company have since approved a final dividend of N2.1trn in line with PIA 2021 provisions.
In her remarks at the briefing, the Executive Vice President, Upstream, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said with improvements witnessed as a result of the renewed vigour in the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, NNPC Ltd is targeting 2million barrels per day crude oil production by the the end of the year.
On the current fuel queues in parts of Lagos and the FCT, the Executive Vice President, Downstream, Mr. Dapo Segun appealed for understanding from Nigerians, saying that the the Company is working with relevant stakeholders to address the distribution, evacuation and logistics challenges.
It would be recalled that in 2021, NNPC declared profit in its operations for the first time. From a loss position of N803 billion in 2018, it reduced the loss further down to N1.7 billion in 2019.
However, in 2020, it posted its ‘first ever’ profit of N287 billion, then in 2021, it recorded a N674.1 billion profit and in 2022, the profit grew to N2.548, an unprecedented achievement in its financial performance. The N3.297 trillion profit declared for 2023 is the highest since the Company’s inception, 46 years ago.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on some transactions done by their customers.
The apex bank gave the directive in a circular dated May 6, 2024 and sent to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.
“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act’, is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular partly read.
The apex bank said that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from the date of the circular.
“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’. Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month,” the circular said
The apex bank added that this new levy will not be applied on transactions such as loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.
Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.
This current implementation however is not sitting well with some netizens as they reacted to the new development.
Here were some of their reactions from X.
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