L-R – Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank’s Group Executive, E-Business and Retail Products; Olakunle Animasaun, grand prize winner; Vincent Ogbunude, Managing Director Verve; and Folasade Femi-Lawal, Head of Card & Messaging Business First Bank, during the presentation of a brand-new Suzuki S-Presso car to Olakunle Animasaun at the recently concluded First Bank & Verve Transact and Win Promo.

Africa’s leading payment cards and digital tokens brand, Verve, in partnership with First Bank has rewarded the grand prize winner of the Transact and Win Promo, Mr. Olakunle Animasaun, the Chairman of Kanwal International Limited, with a brand-new Suzuki S-Presso car during the prize presentation ceremony at First bank’s head office in Lagos.

The Verve Transact and Win Promo organized in collaboration with First Bank was designed to reward loyal Verve cardholders with cash and exciting prizes during the 14-week period of the promo.

Over 2,500 cardholders were rewarded with more than N50 million worth of prizes, such as; a brand-new car, Generators, Refrigerators, Television sets, Gas cookers, loads of airtime rewards and an array of cash prizes.

Aside the grand prize winner driving away the brand-new car, 100 monthly winners emerged, winning N50,000 cash each and another 100 winning either Gas cookers, Refrigerators or Generator sets. Over 2,400 lucky cardholders were also rewarded weekly with either TV sets, N20,000 cash, N10,000 cash or N10,000 airtime each. It was indeed a season of rewards and merriment for the First Bank Verve cardholders.

Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony, Vincent Ogbunude, Managing Director of Verve International, said the firm partnered with First Bank to reward loyal customers because they both shared a similar vision of delivering world-class payment solutions to their esteemed customers.

He further said beyond the overarching goals of providing secure and innovative solut​​ions to its customers, Verve is committed to creating unique customer experiences and rewarding customers for their continued patronage. “We congratulate all the lucky cardholders, and we will be taking the excitement a notch higher with the presentation of the gift items and a brand-new car to lucky winners.”

Mr. Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank’s Group Executive, E-Business and Retail Products, said that the aim of the promo was to appreciate the bank’s over eight million Verve Debit Cardholders. He stated that the bank will continue to partner with Verve to reward the patronage of customers.

Mr. Olakunle Animasaun, said he never expected to win the grand prize and he was overwhelmed with the excitement of winning the car.

He said, “Initially I doubted the credibility when someone called me from ​F​irst ​B​ank, informing me I had won a car. I did not believe it, until I got here, saw the car and the key was handed over to me. I thank FirstBank and Verve for this opportunity given to me. I pray that God will continue to bless them.”

He urged other cardholders to continue to use Verve cards to enjoy seamless payment solutions.

The presentation ceremony had representatives from the Regulatory bodies; National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Lagos State Lotteries Board (LSLB) among others in attendance.

L-R DCP. Ayoola Ajala, Co-ordinator, Financial Malpractices Investigation Unit; Mohammed B. Abubakar, Director Public Prosecution of the Federation; Hassan Bello, FCA, MD/CE, NDIC; Michael Oladele, Director Bank Examination Department, NDIC; Henry E. Fomah, Head, Legal Department, NDIC; Ahmad Muhammad Ghali, representative of Executive Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the 2022, Capacity Building Workshop for Law enforcement agencies with the theme: Effective Investigation and Prosecution of Banking Malpractices that led to Failure of Banks organised by NDIC.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, would host the 2022 Stanbic IBTC Africa China Trade Expo as part of its efforts at promoting trans-regional trade and development between Nigeria and China.

The trade expo would feature a panel discussion, masterclasses on trade, a presentation on the Stanbic IBTC Africa China Trade Solutions and a fully virtual exhibition.

The two-day hybrid conference and exhibition-themed “Synergy for Growth’ is slated for 10 and 11 August 2022, and is geared at providing insights and opportunities for participants. The event would serve as an avenue to showcase Nigerian and Chinese exhibitors, and would as well provide opportunities to build relationships within the trade community.

The physical conference is planned to feature keynote speeches and panel discussions by highly experienced subject matter experts and thought leaders in relevant industries and would be an opportunity for exporters and importers to engage and create a marketplace experience.

Speakers slated for the event include Philip Myburgh, Head, Pan-African China Banking, Standard Bank Group; and Ade Otukomaya, Head, Africa China Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank. Others are Remy Osuagwu, Executive Director, Business and Commercial Clients, Stanbic IBTC Bank; and Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.

The panel discussion, with the theme ‘Promoting Export Activities through Synergy’, would have Samuel Oyeyipo, Deputy Director and Regional Coordinator, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, South West Regional Office, Lagos; Luthando Vuda, Head, Africa China Trade in Business and Commercial Clients, Standard Bank Group; Jane He, Business Manager, Pan Africa China Banking, Business and Commercial Clients, Standard Bank Group, Fola Abimbola, Analyst, Senior, Frontier Africa Equity Research Stanbic IBTC; and Victor Ayemere, Chief Executive, Zeenab Foods Limited, Operators of the Nigeria Export Trade House China/Far East Region as panelists.

Dr. Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, spoke on the rationale for the conference. He highlighted that the Stanbic IBTC Africa-ChinaTrade Expo hybrid Conference and Exhibition would be geared at showcasing Nigeria and China trade opportunities while emphasising the role of Stanbic IBTC in facilitating inter-regional trade.

“China is Africa’s biggest trading partner by far and can foster strong trade routes and economies of scale, offering an incredible opportunity to do more than just import goods. With the emphasis on building strong synergy and relationship between China and Nigeria, the Stanbic IBTC Africa-China Trade Expo is expected to provide insights into Nigeria and China trade relations and the role of Stanbic IBTC as a facilitator of inter-regional trade, as well as provide advisory services, allowing trade partners access and unlock the opportunities in Nigeria-China trade,” Demola said.

“The topics for discourse at the two-day hybrid conference and exhibition would centre on building synergy between Nigeria and China’s economies, building synergy between government agencies and driving export activities through policies and initiatives. Other topics would include building export activities in partnership with Stanbic IBTC and promoting competitive advantage for enhancing export.”

“The exhibition would also showcase vendors who export from Nigeria to China and vice versa, spanning across agriculture, manufacturing, equipment, processing and packaging firms,” Demola added.

The Chief Executive noted that through its Africa China Trade Solution (ACTS) and other networks of relations between Africa and China, the financial service provider continued to facilitate economic trade and development between Africa and the Asian country.

Stanbic IBTC’s trade solutions such as Stanbic IBTC Africa China Trade Solutions (ACTS) continued to enable settlement of international transactions and mitigation of payment risk while providing regional solutions such as issuance of payment guarantees and letters of credit to Nigerian exporters.

Our attention has been drawn to an online report on the purported sale of Polaris Bank Limited. 

This publication is speculative, deliberately intended to create panic and should be disregarded by the banking public. 

Stakeholders may recall the regulatory intervention in the erstwhile Skye Bank by the CBN and the subsequent injection of capital via the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) through a bridge bank process, which birthed Polaris Bank in 2018. The bank has since stabilised its operations following the intervention; improving its balance sheet, customer base and profitability. 

Whilst the intention has always been to return the bank to private ownership, such a sale would occur following regulatory approvals with formal notification to all relevant stakeholders. The Bank is committed to ensuring timely communication to the public in such an event.
The Board and Management hereby reassure its customers, staff and the general public that Polaris Bank remains a stable, strong and credible financial institution, positioned to deliver sustainable value to all its stakeholders.

Signed
Management

A return to growth in output and stronger inflows of new orders helped underpin a further improvement in operating conditions in the Nigerian private sector during July. In turn, businesses increased their purchasing activity at the strongest rate for five months while stocks increased sharply.

Despite stronger inflows of new work, employment growth eased and was marginal amid elevated costs and subsequent pressures on profits. Purchase and output price inflation accelerated to four-month highs in July, with unfavourable exchange rate movements and higher fuel costs behind the latest round of inflation.

Nevertheless, sentiment improved from June, and firms reported hopes of securing greater business investments.

The headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI®). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration.

The headline PMI registered at 53.2 in July, up from 50.9 in June, signaling an improvement in business conditions in Nigeria’s private sector. The latest figure rose from June’s 17-month low but was still muted compared to the historical average.

A renewed increase in output supported the latest improvement in business conditions in July. Output rose solidly, albeit at a rate that was weak by historical standards. Agriculture recorded the strongest uplift in output during July, followed closely by manufacturing. Services and wholesale & retail followed, where rates of growth quickened from those seen in June. Stronger client demand was behind the uplift in output with new orders rising sharply across all four sectors in July.

To support higher output, companies increased their purchasing activity for the twenty-fifth month in a row. Consequently, stocks of purchases rose markedly as firms intensified efforts to build up their inventories. Moreover, the rate of growth was the steepest in seven months.

Vendor performance improved in July, but to the least extent for over two years amid reports of busier road conditions.

Outstanding business fell at the softest rate since August 2020 in July. Sufficient capacity combined with rising costs led firms to raise their headcounts at the slowest pace for seven months.

Turning to prices, overall input price inflation was robust amid a quicker uptick in purchase costs. Staff costs rose only marginally, however. Firms passed on a large part of the burden by lifting their selling prices at the quickest rate in four months.

Finally, firms remained optimistic about output growth in the year ahead amid hopes of acquiring greater investment and expanding business operations.