Even before the CBN made the BVN mandatory, AMfB has started requesting BVN from all our customers, we partnered with top commercial banks to get them to enroll our customers for BVN and we linked up with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) to ensure we can verify those BVN and as at today almost 40,000 of our customers already have BVN and we are extending that to all savings customer. We are on track regarding that.

It is going to be difficult in the next one or two years because what is happening now is that they are contributing a percentage of their balance sheet, which means that even if they are making loss, they will still contribute. And some of them are contributing more than the profit they are making because it’s tied to their balance sheet. But the law is very flexible, to the extent that CBN, based on the law, has the discretion to tweak with the contribution rate. But I am sure if the industry picks up, at certain point in time and the banks are doing well, I am sure it will be visited but all of us know what is happening in the banking industry today, so we have to be careful so that we don’t overburden them with contributions, and at the end of the day it will come back and create another problem.

The truth of the matter is that those companies that are listed in the ASeM are more like moribund. They are not active in terms of releasing their results. What the alternative market is supposed to be is the stepping stone to the main market. A company that is aiming to go to the Main Board will first be listed there, and after it has demonstrated some level of competence, it will be graduated to the main market, but that is not the case in our country. If you look at it, for the last three to four years, no single company has moved from the alternative market. Rather, the companies will want to jump from the starting point to the main broad.

The Nigerian stock market was adversely affected by economic situation of the country in the last two years; but in recent time, we have started seeing some improvement. The rally in stock market is majorly attributed to the monetary policy changes, such as the Investors and Exporters, I & E forex window, which allow investors to bring in their money at a well known market determined price.

STANDARDd Chartered Bank Limited has launched a campaign entitled, “No.1 Bank: Power your Ambitions” to highlight its recent achievements and reiterate its commitment to the Africa and Middle East (AME) region.

GLOBAL insurance premium rates have continued on downward trend quarter-on-quarter for the past four years even as Nigeria is not left out in the decline.

FIRST Bank of Nigeria Limited through its Sustainability initiative, FirstBank Sustainability Centre, in partnership with the Lagos Business School, is set to host a Sustainable Financial Strategy Workshop for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

FOREIGN buyers come into the Nigerian insurance industry with conditions that are not friendly with the country’s operating environment.

THE African Aviation Pool recorded a dip in gross premium income by 34.5 percent at the end of December 31, 2016 to US$741,172 from US$996,610 posted in 2015 due to fall in premium rates.

INVESTORS in Real Estate Investment Trust, REIT, have received a boost as Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has indicated its preparedness to support individuals and businesses interested in long-term investment in the real estate sector. The bank said that in doing so, the industry will play its catalytic role in driving growth and development of the economy. The bank made the declaration at the inaugural edition of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Real Estate Investment Trust, REIT, conference in Lagos.

TOTAL Nigeria Plc has assured its shareholders of improved performance in 2017, as it re-strategises to consolidate in the downstream petroleum sector.

FORTE Oil Plc has disclosed plans to raise N20 billion capital by way of equity out of the N100 billion approved by the shareholders at its Annual General Meeting, AGM, to boost its operations.

INDICATIONS have shown that the equity market will receive further boost this week as expectation of economic recovery continues to heighten given the bullish trend recorded in recent weeks.

THE unprecedented bullish run that prevailed in the equities market for most part of last month (May), especially at the later part of the month that saw the equities capitalisation gallop to over N10 trillion mark has resulted in huge N1.29 trillion gains to investors.

THE nation’s external reserve recorded its second monthly decline of $535 million last month. This came as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had intervened in the foreign exchange market by selling $6.84 billion from January to last month.