CBN Increases Capital Base For Commercial Banks To N500bn

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday announced an increase in the capital base for different categories of banks in the country. A statement made on Thursday by the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, in Abuja, said the capital base of banks with international authorisation had been increased to N500 billion while that of national banks was increased to N200billion. The CBN noted that commercial banks with regional authorisation are expected to achieve a N50 billion capital base. In contrast, merchant banks are expected toshore up their capital to N50 billion as the minimum capital requirement. The apex bank directed non-interest banks with national and regional authorisations to boost their capital to N20 billion and N10 billion, respectively.

Edo, Delta, Ondo, Ekiti Eyes BEDC Takeover

Edo, Delta, Ondo, and Ekiti state governments expressed their intention to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to possibly take regulatory control of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) by March 31, 2024. The BEDC states in a unified correspondence to NERC claimed this initiative is a result of operational challenges and failures in service delivery by the Disco within their respective states.

Just In: CBN Raises Interest Rate To 24.75 Percent

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the interest rate by 200 basis points to 24.75 percent, in an effort to combat the country’s increasing inflation. This increase in the interest rate was disclosed in a communiqué on Tuesday by the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso after the second Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of his tenure.

Earnings From Foreign Taxes Doubled In 2023 - NBS

Nigeria's revenue from foreign-related Value Added Tax (VAT) increased by 61% to N824.6 billion in 2023. In its recent release, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that this represents a huge increase from N510.8 billion in 2022. According to the data released, the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) from foreign increased by 107%, moving from N1.14 trillion in 2022 to N2.38 trillion in 2023. While the increase in tax revenue is a huge boost, experts believe that this boost will not make a huge impact on the economy, as they suspect the weakening of the naira, which has increased the local currency’s value of foreign transactions for non-import (foreign) Value Added Tax (VAT) and Foreign Company Income Tax (CIT) payments.

CBN Sells $10,000 To BDCs At N1,251/$1

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in a circular to Bureau De Change, BDC operators notified them of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at a rate of N1,251/$1. The apex bank also instructed BDCs to sell at a rate not exceeding 1.5% above the purchase price, i.e., N1,269/$1. This is coming weeks after the CBN revoked the licenses of over 4173 BDC operators, which further attested to the dollar sales to BDC operators having paused the action in 2021.

Zenith Bank Appoints Umeoji As New GMD/CEO

Zenith Bank has appointed Umeoji Adaora as its new Group Managing Director (GMD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This was disclosed by the bank on Tuesday in a corporate filing on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), which stated that her appointment will take effect from June 1, 2024. The bank stated that Umeoji has over 26 years of banking experience with Zenith Bank and she is the first female to be appointed as GMD/CEO.

FG To Increase Power Supply By 90%

Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, while on a working visit to different power projects in Lagos confirmed that the Federal Government has placed strategies in place that will boost electricity generation capacity by 90%, hence moving from 3,500 megawatts to 6,500 megawatts within the next three (3) to six (6) months. The minister also noted that this increase will not only improve the power supply nationwide but will also satisfy the increasing energy needs. 

Paris Club Fraud: S.Court Delivers Judgment June 7 On Alleged N3.5bn

The appellant is challenging the judgment of the Court of Appeal ordering the forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government of Nigeria, being proceeds of an unlawful activity in the Paris Club Fund involving Melrose General Services Limited.

Strengthen Naira: Presidency Urges Nigerians To Buy Made-in-Nigeria Products

The Presidency urged Nigerians on Friday to buy made-in-Nigeria goods and services in order to strengthen the gains made by the Naira in the foreign exchange market. This was disclosed to State House journalists by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, who stated that a stronger naira would complement the new minimum wage.

CBN Donates N100bn Fertilizer To Boost Food Production

In a bid to mitigate the surge in food prices and improve food production, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given 2.15 million bags of fertilizer, valued at over N100 billion to the Federal of Agriculture and Food Security to be distributed to farmers across the country. This is as the minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari yesterday confirmed receiving the 2.15 million bags of fertilizer allocated by the CBN to boost food production. The CBN governor Olayemi Cardoso announced the donation yesterday in a new collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture for the implementation of policies that cultivate a resilient macroeconomic environment. He added that the investment in agriculture would increase food production and reduce inflation, currently at 29.9 percent.