Business

COVID-19 Validates Need for Mortgage to Go Digital – CitiTrust Boss

Published

3 years ago

April 2, 2021

Eric

COVID-19 pandemic has further validated the need for businesses to go digital to help patrons access loan facilities.

This was disclosed by the Country Chief Executive Officer of Cititrust Financial Services, Peter Ikechukwu.

He said, “The truth of the matter is that fintech is the way, and any business that is not positioned for that right now will experience a dramatic nosedive. We are not there yet but we are putting the virtual processes in place.

“The platforms are being built as we speak, the engagement with vendors is actually in top gear. So, between now and the end of the year, we should be playing actively in that space because the truth is, it is an investment that cannot go wrong. Plans are seriously in motion and before the end of the year, we will be active in that space.”

On the investment firm’s listing plan, he told Nairametrics that the firm had perfected arrangements to list by introduction on the nation’s bourse before the end of the second quarter.

He added that the company’s decision to list on the exchange was to make its shares available to more Nigerians and raise capital as well.

He said that the company would also grow its balance sheet size of N36 billion by 50% before the end of 2021.

“We are also looking at growing our lending powers, we have a risk asset portfolio of about N12 billion, we are looking at growing that by another 50 percent incrementally by the end of this year,” he stated.

He said that the company was also making plans to migrate Living Trust Mortgage Bank, which is listed on the Exchange, from a state licenced mortgage bank to a national mortgage bank.

“We are coming up with a programme through our Cititrust Academy on April 15, where people can learn the basics of business and be able to impact their operational lives as they move on.

We expect that by mid next year, all our subsidiaries will be top industry players in the space where they play, because we believe that money is made at the top,”he said.

Speaking on the company’s loan exposure, he said it was minimal and within the threshold of regulatory requirement of 5%.

He attributed the reason for high non-performing loans to lack of effective monitoring from the point of disbursement.

“If you don’t monitor these loans properly, you will discover that even the customer that has the capacity to pay, will not pay.

“When proper structures are on ground, the monies will come back. When the monitoring is there, things will not go bad. The structure of the loan is another thing that should be looked at. Once all these dynamics are properly understood, the exposure will be minimal,” he said.

Business

Glo Launches New Internet Solution Products for Homes, Businesses

Published

2 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Eric

Two new products, which provide internet connectivity solutions specially designed for Residential and SME commercial customers, have been unveiled by digital solutions company, Globacom.

The products, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) were packaged for Glo customers to enjoy reliable and high speed internet through linked fibre services.

Globacom said in a statement in Lagos “With these services, businesses and homes can access dedicated internet speeds of up to 1GBps, allowing unlimited internet usages for seamless video calls, video and music streaming and a whole lot of other dedicated usages to promote business success and equally provide endless entertainment for homes”.

It explained that the new product comes with a unique opportunity for “Residential Estates, High Rise Apartments, Commercial SME Estates to enjoy dedicated high speed internet in their cluster”.

These services, according to Globacom, give exceptional experience and unmatched speed for users at home or in offices and are provided through hi-speed fibre – unlike copper which was being used in the past.

Positioning itself as the premier provider of innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes, Globacom assured customers of the best value for money with the new offerings, adding that users who sign on for these services will also enjoy fully dedicated bandwidth.

“We are committed to delivering the most cost-effective data connectivity experience for homes and businesses in addition to providing dedicated and reliable services.” Globacom concluded.

Business

Naira Appreciates Further, Sells at N1,280/$ at Parallel Market

Published

3 weeks ago

March 30, 2024

Eric

The naira, on Friday, appreciated to N1,280 per dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The current FX rate signifies a 5.19 percent appreciation from the N1,350/$ reported on March 27.

Currency traders in Lagos, also known as bureau de change (BDCs) operators, quoted the buying rate of the greenback at N1,260 and the selling price at N1,280 — leaving a profit margin of N20.

“The price of the dollar as well as other major currencies have been falling. It is affecting our business as some customers prefer to keep their currencies than change it with us,” a currency trader identified as Aliyu told TheCable.

At the official section of the FX market, the local currency depreciated by 0.69 percent to N1,309.39/$ on March 28 — from N1,300.43/$ on March 27.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on March 29, said the economy recorded over $1.5 billion in foreign exchange (FX) inflow this month, indicating its monetary policy initiatives are effective.

The apex bank said the naira is headed in the right direction, and the administration of Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, remains committed to ensuring the stability of the market and the appropriate pricing of the naira against other major currencies worldwide.

TheCable

Business

NNPC Denies Reducing Petrol Pump Price

Published

3 weeks ago

March 28, 2024

Eric

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has declared that there is no plan to reduce the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) aka diesel.

The national oil company disclosed this through a statement on Wednesday by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye.

He said: “The NNPC Limited wishes to clarify rumours suggesting a price adjustment for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) at its retail stations nationwide.

“The company asserts that these reports are false and urges Nigerians to disregard them entirely.

“NNPC Ltd. reaffirms its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in petroleum products supply across all its retail stations in the country,” the statement added.