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Wema Bank to Begin Rights Issue in Q3, As HY Earnings Jump 49%

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Wema Bank Moruf Oseni

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Wema Bank Plc has confirmed that it will begin the process of raising fresh funds through the rights issue in the third quarter of 2023.

A rights issue is the process of sourcing capital from existing shareholders by offering them the opportunity to acquire additional shares of the company at a specified price.

The Managing Director of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, while commenting on the financial performance of the lender in the first half of this year, said the company was confident about raising funds from the beginning of next month, especially because of improved stability in the operating environment.

In the period under review, Wema Bank showcased strong performance as it doubled its profitability and gross earnings.

In the results, the commercial bank improved its gross earnings on a year-on-year basis by 49 per cent to N89.09 billion from N59.59 billion in the first half of last year.

It was observed that the interest income was up by 53 per cent to N76.11 billion from N49.75 billion in the same period of 2022, as the non-interest income grew by 32 per cent to N12.98 billion from N9.85 billion.

As for the bottom line of the results, the profit before tax was up by 97 per cent to N12.05 billion from N6.13 billion, as the post-tax profit went up by 97 per cent to N10.48 billion from N5.30 billion.

Business Post reports that the bank grew its deposit year to date by 19 per cent as of H1 2023 to N1.393 trillion from the N1.166 trillion reported in FY 2022, as loans and advances grew by 20 per cent to N627.01 billion in H1 2023 from N521.43 billion in FY, 2022.

“Our H1 2023 results saw significant upsides with profit before and after tax growing strongly by about 97 per cent.

“The management team at Wema Bank is focused on driving the execution of our current corporate strategy.

“Our embrace of technology is helping us deliver seamless best-in-class services while offering compelling value propositions to customers. Hence, we are seeing record-breaking returns across the board.

“Finally, we continue to see improvements in our corporate, commercial, and retail businesses as evidenced by our strong loan growth,” Mr Oseni said.

“It has been a good half-year performance for Wema Bank, with gross earnings growing by 49% year on year and earnings per share at 163.0 kobo.

“In addition, our cost-to-income ratio at 72.71 per cent has witnessed significant improvement from the previous period.

”We have also succeeded in making Wema Bank an integral part of the Fintech ecosystem in Nigeria with our ubiquitous fintech infrastructure support play,” he added.

Banking

GTCO Distributes 3,000 Gas Cylinders to Obafemi Owode Residents

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GTCO cooking gas cylinder

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Over 3,000 residents of the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State have been given a unit each of a 3kg gas cylinder by Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc under its Waste for Gas initiative launched recently.

The cooking tool was distributed mostly to women in the community after conducting thorough assessments by visiting beneficiaries’ homes to ensure that the support reached those who genuinely needed it.

The financial institution said the items would provide access to gas-powered cooking solutions and simplify daily routines by freeing up time for other productive activities that support financial stability.

It expressed optimism that the cooking gas cylinder will make a meaningful impact in the community and enhance the quality of life for households.

“The Waste for Gas initiative is about making life easier for families, giving them more time to focus on important activities such as education, work, or personal development.

“Beyond this, our goal is to continuously develop sustainable initiatives that empower individuals, strengthen communities, and contribute to socioeconomic growth,” the chief executive of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje said.

Also, the Chief Communication Officer of GTCO, Ms Oyinade Adegite, said, “We visited various households across the local government and were surprised to find that some residents had already gone borrowing from money lenders just to afford gas cylinders, while some others were considering doing the same.”

She urged beneficiaries to use the cylinders for their intended purpose and not resell them, adding that GTCO would return for the second phase of the program. The bank’s decision to expand the initiative would depend on how well the items are utilized.

Expressing gratitude for the initiative, Obafemi Owode Local Government Chairman, Mr Ogunsola Adesina, stated that the intervention would significantly improve the standard of living in the area.

He also appealed to GTCO to establish a branch within the community to alleviate the banking challenges residents currently face.

In his remarks, the Olu of Owode-Egba, Mr Kolawole Aremu Sowemimo, advised beneficiaries not to sell the gas cookers and assured them that discussions were underway to establish discounted gas refill stations within the community.

Additionally, the Iyaloja General, Mrs Ganiyat Oyelakin, cautioned beneficiaries to use the gas cookers safely to prevent accidents. Residents were also educated on the proper handling and maintenance of their gas cylinders.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Risikat Ayoka, thanked GTCO for the initiative, saying, “We are excited. This gesture will make us stop using firewood for cooking.”

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Banking

Union Bank, ICAN Explore Potential Areas of Collaboration

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ICAN Union Bank

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The managements of Union Bank of Nigeria and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) are looking at ways to join forces for growth.

Recently, the executives of ICAN were at the head office of the financial institution tucked in the iconic Stallion Plaza in Lagos.

This visit underscores ICAN and Union Bank’s mutual commitment to advancing the accounting profession and contributing to the overall growth of Nigeria’s financial sector.

The president of ICAN, Mr Davidson C.S Alaribe, appreciated the warm reception and highlighted the importance of such engagements in promoting professional excellence and ethical standards within the accounting and finance sectors.

In his remarks, the Chief Financial Officer of Union Bank, Mr Oluwagbenga Adeoye, emphasised the bank’s commitment to supporting initiatives that enhance the professional development of accountants and ICAN members.

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Banking

Senate Accuses CBN of Stalling N30trn Ways and Means, ABP Investigations

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CBN IMTOs

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Ways and Means Advance has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of frustrating its investigation into the N30 trillion Ways and Means Advance and the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The committee made the accusation after receiving an interim report from its consultants at a meeting where they expressed frustration over the central bank’s failure to provide crucial documents required for the probe.

The panel, which was inaugurated a year ago by Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, stated that the delay has significantly stalled progress on the investigation.

The chairman of the committee, Mr Isah Jibrin, criticised the CBN for withholding vital information, despite multiple requests, revealing major infractions with the preliminary reports of the lender.

He dismissed speculations that the Senate had been compromised or gone to sleep, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.

“The information we have here is not different from what we have heard all along. What we did was to hand over the documents to the consultants, and when the consultants made available to us this interim report, our intention was to hold onto the interim report on the final report,” he told reporters.

“But we’ve been compelled to make available this interim report to the general public so that they know that we let them know where the problem is, and the problem is that the Central Bank of Nigeria has denied us consistently the documents that we need to complete this assignment. That is the truth.

“It was at the CBN sometimes, I met Bala the deputy governor. And they promised, but nothing came out of it. The Clerk has been there several times. Nothing has come out of it.

“The consultants themselves even took it upon themselves to go with CBN directly, because we introduced them to CBN and nothing has come out of it.”

The committee issued a strong warning to the CBN representatives, emphasizing the need for full disclosure of how the funds were utilized to address Nigeria’s economic challenges.

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