Sterling Bank, a leading financial institution committed to driving innovation and progress, has partnered with the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG) to revolutionize credential verification through blockchain technology. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in enhancing the efficiency, security, and accessibility of academic credentials in Nigeria.

Acknowledging the pressing need for an effective solution, Sterling Bank has taken the initiative to back the implementation of VX Technologies’ innovative blockchain-based digital certification program. This initiative arose from the necessity for a transformative solution to address the difficulties faced by SPPG in managing and verifying academic credentials through paper-based systems.

“We are thrilled to partner with VX Technologies and SPPG to introduce this game-changing initiative,” said Obinna Ukachukwu, Chief Growth Officer Sterling Bank. “We believe in the power of innovation to drive progress and transform lives at Sterling Bank. By supporting the adoption of blockchain technology in education, we are not only revolutionising credential verification but also advancing our H.E.A.R.T strategy for Education, which prioritises Access and Equity.”

Sterling Bank’s investment in this pioneering project underscores its commitment to fostering innovation and driving positive change in Nigeria’s education sector. By leveraging blockchain technology, graduates from SPPG will now have access to secure, tamper-proof digital certificates, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of their academic achievements.

As VX Technologies maintains its leadership position in integrating blockchain technology across diverse sectors, their collaboration with SPPG and Sterling Bank underscores the significant impact of blockchain technology on education and beyond.

“We are pleased to acknowledge the impactful generosity of Sterling Bank, which has provided the funding necessary for the initial phase of this project“ said Ryan Hawkos, Director of Operations, VX Technologies. “This support ensures that thousands of SPPG alumni can access their digital certificates, with the first one thousand certificates being provided at no cost.”

As Nigeria’s education landscape continues to evolve in the digital age, Sterling Bank remains committed to driving innovation and empowering the next generation of leaders. Through strategic partnerships and groundbreaking initiatives like the blockchain-based digital certification project, Sterling Bank is leading the charge towards a future where access to education is seamless, secure, and equitable.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of SPPG, Alero Ayida-Otobo, “Sterling Bank’s commitment to quality and positive educational experiences for people is yet again demonstrated here in their commitment to supporting the adoption of innovative technology across the educational ecosystem.”

“We are one of the first institutions in Nigeria to embrace blockchain for academic credential management, and we look forward to a near future where this is the norm across Nigeria,” he added.

Renowned for its now famous HEART of Sterling strategy; which focuses investments in the Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation; its irreverent brand voice and enviable talent management practices, Sterling has been awarded the Most Innovative Bank of The Year for by BusinessDay, been named the Overall Best Place To Work In Nigeria by the  Great Place To Work Institute, and has featured on the prestigious top 100 fastest growing companies in Africa, as published by the globally recognised Financial Times, all in 2023.

Fidelity Bank was by far the most traded stock in the NGX on Monday, June 10, 2024, with a turnover volume of about 605.257 million shares, even as the stock gained 6.52% to close at N9.80.

Since announcing its public offer and rights issue program, the bank’s stock has seen significant market activity. For the week ending June 7, 2024, it emerged as the top-traded stock, with a turnover volume of 229.613 million shares.

After Fidelity Bank, Access Holdings recorded the highest turnover volume in the market with 93.067 million shares. It was followed by UBA, which recorded a 2.86% gain and a turnover volume of 58.726 million shares.

Nigerian Breweries which posted a 2.38% posted a turnover volume of 45.256 million shares, and Zenith Bank with a 4.66% gain posted a turnover volume of 16.079 million shares.

In terms of turnover value, Fidelity Bank posted a N6.025 billion turnover value, while Access Holdings posted a turnover value of N1.744 billion. Nigerian Breweries recorded N1.27 billion, UBA – N1.26 billion, and Stanbic IBTC posted a turnover value of N572.92 million with a 0.57% gain.

For stocks worth over one trillion, trading sentiment was quite positive, however, eight out of the ten stocks were left unchanged. GTCO Holdings posted a 0.13% and Zenith Bank posted a 4.66% gain.

Other members of the category, Airtel Africa, BUA Cement, BUA Foods, MTN Nigeria, Geregu Power, Transcorp Power, Seplat Energy, and Dangote Cement posted no price changes.

The top-tier banking stocks recorded gains all-round, as UBA, GTCO, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank posted 2.86%, 0.13%, 9.86%, and 4.66% gains respectively. However, FBNH recorded no price change.

The FUGAZ stocks recorded a turnover volume of 181.488 million shares.

Stanbic IBTC Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, has been recognised as the ‘Best Local Currency Bond House’ at the EMEA Finance Awards for the second consecutive year.

This award highlights the company’s outstanding performance and pivotal role in the Nigerian capital markets.

In addition to the ‘Best Local Currency Bond House’ award, Stanbic IBTC Capital also earned four other recognitions at the EMEA Finance Achievement Awards ceremony, which was held in London on Thursday, 06 May 2024. These include the Best Sovereign Sukuk Programme Award for managing Nigeria’s ₦150 billion domestic Sukuk programme; demonstrating the firm’s expertise in supporting government initiatives through innovative Islamic finance.

The firm also received the Best Naira Bond award for its role in Flour Mills of Nigeria’s ₦46 billion 3-year Fixed-rate Bond issuance, demonstrating its proficiency in navigating the local debt market and supporting the strategic growth of its corporate clientele.

Finally, the Best Project Bond in EMEA Award was conferred on Stanbic IBTC Capital for acting as Lead Issuing House and Adviser in Lagos Free Zone’s ₦17.5 billion 20-Year InfraCredit Guaranteed Issuance. These awards collectively affirm Stanbic IBTC Capital’s market leadership position in the investment banking sector and its commitment to providing innovative investment banking solutions that drive economic growth and development in Nigeria.

Oladele Sotubo, Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Capital, expressed gratitude for the recognition from EMEA Finance, thanking the company’s clientele for their trust.

“We remain deeply thankful to our clients for their continued trust and partnership. Their support enables us to deliver innovative investment banking solutions that meet their needs and drive Nigeria’s growth.

He emphasised that the company’s Investment Banking team aims to uphold the highest standards of service and expertise; with the intention to always exceed clients’ expectations, in line with Stanbic IBTC Group’s values, two of which are delivering to stakeholders and constantly raising the bar.

The EMEA Finance Award is a highly respected and competitive annual event that recognises the best financial institutions and transactions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

Stanbic IBTC Capital’s multiple wins underline its position as a leading investment banking and advisory firm in the Nigerian and broader African markets.

Retail lender, Unity Bank Plc has projected a Profit After Tax of N5.2 billion in Q3, 2024, according to its latest earning forecast released to the Nigerian Exchange Group.

The lender projects a pre-tax profit of N5.7 billion while targeting a turnover of N26.93 billion in gross earnings during the quarter, an 8.2% increase from the Q2, 2024 projection of N24.89 billion.

An essential part of the earnings forecast also shows that the lender expects to record its interest income at N23 billion, with net revenue anticipated to hit N6.58 billion for the period. Operating income is expected to rise to N13.38 billion, while cash flow from financing activities is projected to rise to N353.6 billion.

Moreover, the improved projected cash from financing activities and the expected increase in cash and cash equivalents highlight the lender’s strong liquidity position, which is critical for sustaining current and future business operations.

The lender stated that it expects the results to be achieved and surpass the projection, barring any unforeseen significant changes in the operating macroeconomic environment under which assumptions underlying the forecast were made.

Analysts believe that the positive outlook of the lender’s Q3, 2024 earnings forecast reflects strategic growth in key financial metrics, a focus on strengthening its income base, efficient financial management, and enhancing customer deposits geared towards maintaining a strong, stable, and profitable financial institution.

Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook on Fidelity Bank Plc’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Positive from Stable, while affirming the rating at ‘B-‘.

The credit rating agency has also affirmed Fidelity Bank’s National Long-Term Rating at ‘A(nga)’ with a Stable Outlook.

In a statement released on Friday, Fitch said that the outlook revision reflects its, “expectations that the bank’s capitalisation will strengthen in the near term as a result of core capital issuances, including to meet the new paid-in capital requirement of N500 billion for banks with an international licence effective by end-1Q26.”

According to the statement, “Fidelity’s IDRs are driven by its standalone creditworthiness, as expressed by its Viability Rating (VR) of ‘b-‘. The VR balances the concentration of operations in Nigeria’s challenging operating environment, very high credit concentration and high Stage 2 loans against a growing franchise, sound profitability metrics, good capital buffers and reasonable foreign-currency (FC) liquidity coverage.

“Fidelity’s National Ratings are driven by its standalone creditworthiness. They balance a growing franchise and good capital buffers against weaker profitability than higher rated peers.”

The rating agency said that Fidelity is Nigeria’s sixth-largest bank, as it accounted for 5% of domestic banking system assets at end-2023, adding that strong balance-sheet growth in recent years has increased bank’s market shares and that it expects these to increase further but remain below those of the five largest banking groups.

On factors that could lead to negative rating action/downgrade, the agency said: “A sovereign downgrade could result in a downgrade of Fidelity’s VR and Long-Term IDR if Fitch believes that the direct and indirect effects of a sovereign default would be likely to have a sufficiently large effect on capitalisation and foreign-currency liquidity to undermine the bank’s viability.

However, this is unlikely considering the Positive Outlook on Nigeria’s Long-Term IDRs.

In a landmark deal, Nigeria’s largest ethical banking institution, The Alternative Bank have signed a pioneering deal, valued at over N 14 billion, with the Niger state government to finance the delivery of 5000 electric tricycles to drive social impact, youth empowerment, business growth, and economic prosperity in the Power State.

The landmark deal will see the Niger State government, through its ministries of Transportation, Youth, Women Affairs, and Small and Medium Enterprises, procure the tricycles for the programme,

lease them to beneficiaries, establish an assembly and maintenance plant, and train resident youths of the state as mechanics to service the tricycles. With the charging and battery swap stations for the electric tricycles to be installed at strategic locations such as schools, hospitals and markets across major towns in the state.

The Executive Governor of Niger State, His Excellency, Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, commented by saying that this deal is one step towards the upliftment of the state towards realising its full economic potential and making Niger a “green” State.

Governor Bago said the choice of the Alternative Bank as the partner for this project is due to its innovative approach towards wealth creation, with the bank taking a joint-investor and partner-in-progress approach to financing projects, as opposed to the traditional commercial model of being just a lender.

Speaking at the deal-signing ceremony, Alhaji Garba Mohammed, Executive Director at The Alternative Bank, said that “this project, as conceived, will provide solutions to aid the economic involvement of the women, youth and small businesses by generating commercial value for the people and the government, safeguarding the environment through the use of renewable and sustainable energy sources as a driver of transportation with the great state of Niger.”

He continued by saying that “this will be the single largest delivery of electric vehicles across the country, and on the African continent.” He concluded by stating that “unlike vehicles powered by internal combustible engines consuming petrol, compressed natural gas and other fossil fuels, these 5000 tricycles will contribute to the reduction of pollution in Niger State, aligning perfectly with The Alternative Bank’s commitment to wealth creation, social growth, and environmental responsibility.”

This deal comes in swiftly on the heels of the Alternative Bank’s recent delivery of 120 electric tricycles to the Mata Zalla and Yar Baiwa co-operatives in Kano State. The details of the project’s delivery saw the bank deliver tricycles to the women of the cooperatives, train them on servicing and maintenance of the vehicles, as well as create a battery swapping terminal within the Kano metropolis for easy recharging of the tricycles for continued operation.

The outcomes of the recently launched program include economic inclusion and independence for the women, increased transportation options for residents of the metropolis, reduced transportation costs within the vicinity due to the energy cost efficiency of the electric powered, improved security and safety for women commuters within the region, and a considerable net positive environmental impact due to the renewable energy powered nature of the tricycles.

About The Alternative Bank:

The Alternative Bank commenced its journey in January 2014 with a vision to create a dynamic banking experience that respects individuality and speaks the language of its customers. In July 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a Banking License to The Alternative Bank, enabling it to operate as a fully-fledged, standalone bank. Guided by its Advisory Committee of Experts (ACE), The Alternative Bank ensures all its operations align with the ethics of Non-Interest Banking.

Stanbic IBTC is delighted to announce the launch of its scholarship programme for the 2023/2024 academic year. The initiative is designed to support and invest in the educational development of exceptional Nigerian youths. Through the initiative, scholarships will be awarded to 200 students across the country, thus reaffirming Stanbic IBTC’s commitment to supporting education and providing opportunities for outstanding students to achieve their academic dreams.

Building on the success of last year’s programme, this year’s scholarship targets students who have demonstrated academic excellence. To qualify, students must have a UTME score of 250 and above, at least five credits in O’Level (WAEC or NECO), and proof of admission to a Nigerian federal or state university. The scholarship aims at relieving financial burdens and inspire students to strive for excellence in their academic pursuits.

Stanbic IBTC is also excited to announce that the award ceremony for the scholarship recipients will be a hybrid event, allowing participants to join either physically or virtually. The inclusive approach ensures that students, parents, and stakeholders from all regions can partake in the celebrations.

Dr. Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive at Stanbic IBTC Holdings, emphasised the importance of the initiative, stating, “At Stanbic IBTC, we strongly believe in the transformative power of education. Our commitment to this cause is clearly demonstrated through our scholarship programme, which is designed to nurture and develop the potential of Nigeria’s youth. Our mission is to provide these talented individuals with the resources and support they need to excel academically. We encourage eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity by applying to our programme. This step could be the key to unlocking their academic aspirations and achieving their goals.”

Dr. Sogunle further emphasised the importance of the initiative, explaining how the organisation plans to empower young people through comprehensive educational programmes. He said, “Our efforts aim at equipping young people with knowledge, inspiring innovation, and foster a spirit of leadership, ensuring they have the necessary tools and support to make positive changes in their communities and beyond.”

Applications for the 2023/2024 university scholarship are currently ongoing and close on Sunday, 30 June 2024.

Interested students are encouraged to visit www.stanbicibtc.com for more information on how to apply.