Banking and Insurance

News : Banking and Insurance

Despite the financial sector boom in Senegal, small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), which represent over 90 percent of the industrial fabric of the country, struggle to access funding for their development, their representatives claim. (AllAfrica)

INVESTEC Asset Management has increased assets under management 50% to a record £43,4bn by the end of last month. (AllAfrica)

Majority of Kenyans remain unbanked due to the existence of access barriers to financial services. (AllAfrica)

THE imminent merger of CFX and Interfin shows the route that more banks in Zimbabwe's financial sector need to follow. (AllAfrica)

The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has finally fixed March 22nd as start off date for this season's Zenith Bank League. The President of the NBBF Mr Tijjani Umar and the Secretary of the Federation Mr. Francis Gbiri confirmed the date just as he confirmed that the teams have been put on immediate alert for the change in date. The Federation had announced April 7th as the start off date. (AllAfrica)

Senate President, David Mark, assessed the development in the nation's banking sector and concluded that poor supervision by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was responsible for the failure of some banks. (AllAfrica)

GROUP Managing Director- designate of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Philips Oduaza, yesterday in Benin declared the preparedness of the bank to provide funds to Edo State government to enable it realize its developmental programmes. (AllAfrica)

RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) property has been attached by the Deputy Sheriff after the central bank failed to pay US$2 million to Farmtec Spares and Implements will be auctioned tomorrow. (AllAfrica)

BANK deposits increased by 35% during the last quarter of 2009 from US$1 billion to US$1,35 billion due to growth in business activity, increased confidence in the financial sector and rising industry capacity utilisation. The average monthly deposit growth was US$113 million, a 9% increase or 26% of GDP. (AllAfrica)

PREMIER Banking Corporation (PBC) lost US$50 000 after a loan was granted using unprocedural means. An internal audit at the financial institution revealed the funds were paid out against an unfunded account number 01203935010202 domiciled at Borrowdale on October 29 2009, yet the account was only funded the next day. (AllAfrica)

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has spent about N464 million to fund education projects in Nigeria's higher institutions as part of its contribution to the sector. (AllAfrica)

Foreign banks have continue to express confidence in the Nigerian banking industry as well as commend the banking the current banking sector reforms embarked upon by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). (AllAfrica)

The management of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has said that the bank's participation at the 2010 Enugu International Trade Fair would boost economic recovery of small and medium enterprises, agro allied companies and all categories of farmers as it is poised to offer full financial advisory services tailored to meet customers' specific needs. (AllAfrica)

Great reprieve is coming on the way of investors, potential investors, banks and other financial operators and analysts as the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and Lotus Capital Limited collaborate to unveil the immense benefits and opportunities available in Islamic banking products, despite the global financial meltdown. (AllAfrica)

Senate President, David Mark, has said former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chukwuma Soludo, misled the National Assembly on the banking consolidation exercise he supervised in 2005. (AllAfrica)

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo did not tell Nigerians the true status of Nigerian banks at the start of the global financial meltdown in 2008, Senate President David Mark has said. (AllAfrica)

THE Senate Committee on Banking, yesterday expressed support for plans to abolish the Universal Banking scheme and was preparing plans to split the Central Bank into two distinct bodies for effective regulation of the financial services industry that will emerge. (AllAfrica)

Kenya's CFC Stanbic Bank will not issue a dividend for 2009 after posting marginal growth in pretax profit to Sh1.33 billion ($17.3 million) from Sh1.31 billion in 2008. (AllAfrica)

OLD Mutual had worked hard to build a "considerable buffer" of capital over the past year just in case there was a double dip in the investment markets, CEO Julian Roberts said yesterday. (AllAfrica)

As part of the observance on March 15 of each year, the International Consumer Day which is dedicated to financial services, the organization of consumer protection (ODC) held on Monday in Tunis, a seminar under the theme "For better financial services". (AllAfrica)

AgriBank and the Ministry of Fisheries signed an agreement yesterday setting down guidelines for financing aquaculture or fish-farming projects, and the loans will be provided by AgriBank. (AllAfrica)

WHEN Erastus Amenya worked as an insurance salesman, he discovered that it was a 'nasty' profession to be in. (AllAfrica)

LAST week Metropolitan Holdings reported its annual results for the year ended December 31. Metropolitan is not a counter in the Private Investor portfolio but Jean and I have its shares in our main portfolio and the company was on the buy list when the portfolio began. (AllAfrica)

Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie, a former Chairman of UBA, on Tuesday in Abuja applauded the CBN for reversing its policy on the N25 billion minimum capital base for banks. (AllAfrica)

Micro finance banks are opening shop in the city centres while the rural areas for which they exist remain largely unbanked. (AllAfrica)

Investors, analysts, bankers and other financial operators will be exposed to the benefits of Islamic banking in a workshop staged by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and Lotus Capital Limited. (AllAfrica)

The CBN says it has withdrawn N10 billion from circulation through the sale of treasury bills. (AllAfrica)

A retired senior police officer, Mr Elaigwu Agbogo, has dragged First Bank Plc to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over an alleged ATM fraud in his account with the bank. (AllAfrica)

Access to cheap sources of financing will allow non-banking institutions and brokers to actively participate in the secondary market trading of government securities, experts have said. Francis Odubekin, East Africa regional advisor at the US treasury said the active participation of the non-bank institutions and broker/dealers was key to boosting trading volumes in the secondary market. (AllAfrica)

Central banks from the EAC member states have stressed the need for capacity building in the area of economic forecasting and modelling in a bid to prepare for the region's planned monetary union. (AllAfrica)

With the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) set to start operations in Rwanda, the Bankers Association has called upon commercial banks to provide credit information related to their clients. (AllAfrica)