Brand & Business

Flutterwave CEO Shares Visions Of Building Africa’s Payment Superhighway At CNN Global Perspectives Summit

— Flutterwave Founder and CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola By St. Johnson Adegboyega At CNN’s inaugural Global Perspectives summit, Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola shared his vision for Africa’s digital economy, one where Flutterwave serves as the “payment superhighway”, boosting intra- and inter-African trade by connecting the continent to the rest of the world and vice versa.The summit, themed “Africa’s Role in a Changing… []

Banks’ N1.96Trn Black Hole: Who Took the Loans, Who Defaulted, and Why the Real Economy Suffers

By BLAISE UDUNZE Nigeria’s banking sector has entered a season of reckoning. Eight of the nation’s biggest banks have collectively booked N1.96 trillion in impairment charges in just the first nine months of 2025 which represents a staggering 49 percent increase from the N1.32 trillion recorded in the same period of 2024. Behind these figures lies a deeper question that speaks to the very soul… []

Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola’s First HoldCo Hits $303m Profit In 9 Months

— Chairman, FirstHoldCo, Femi Otedola (in white) with executives at a meeting  By St. Johnson Adegboyega  Femi Otedola’s First HoldCo Plc has reported a profit after tax of $303 million (₦450.9 billion) for the nine months ending September 30, 2025, marking a 15.5 per cent decline from the ₦533.9 billion ($359 million) recorded in the same period of 2024. The $303 million profit in nine… []

Access Bank Drives Sustainable Impact Through Clean Water Initiative

By St. Johnson Adegboyega  For millions of Nigerians, access to clean and safe water remains a daily struggle. In many rural and peri-urban communities, the simple act of turning on a tap is still a luxury. Families often trek long distances to fetch water from unsafe sources, streams, ponds, or shallow wells, exposing themselves to diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever. The burden… []

Nigeria’s Newest Financial Institution, Summit Bank Commences Operations

— Summit Bank logo By St. Johnson Adegboyega  Summit Bank Ltd, Nigeria’s newest non-interest financial institution has officially commenced operations with a pledge to deliver ethical, transparent, and inclusive banking services to Nigerians at home and abroad. According to a statement from the bank on Thursday, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Sirajo Salisu, said this at a press briefing in Abuja. The Central Bank of… []

DSTV Now N7,900, GOtv N6,500 As MultiChoice Slashes Decoder Prices

— File photo  By St. Johnson Adegboyega The popular pay-TV provider, Multichoice, has slashed the price of the DStv decoder from N10,000 to a N7,900, while the GOtv decoder price dropped to N6,500. This second major adjustment in months, effective since November 1, is part of the company’s commitment to serve customers better and provide affordable access to premium entertainment. The new price adjustment follows… []

Access Bank and Mastercard: Enabling Seamless Africa-Global Payments

L-R: Folashade Femi-Lawal, Country Manager, West Africa, Mastercard; Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group MD, Access Bank; Mark Elliot, Division President, Africa, Mastercard; and Chizoma Okoli, Deputy MD, Access Bank at the Access – Mastercard Event. By St. Johnson Adegboyega  In today’s interconnected world, seamless cross-border payments are vital for economic growth, business expansion, and personal empowerment. For decades, millions of Africans faced steep barriers in sending or… []

Access Bank Reports ₦1.64 billion In Fraud Losses In H1 As Cases Rebound

— Access Bank logo By St. Johnson Adegboyega  Access Bank’s fraud losses increased by 254.02% to ₦1.64 billion ($1.13 million) in H1 2025, from ₦464.12 million ($320,478) in the previous year, with fraudulent transfers, withdrawals, and account reactivations costing Nigeria’s biggest bank by assets ₦617.11 million ($426,119). According to its parent Acess Holdings’ latest financial statements, most of the losses came from the presentation of… []

Tribunal Orders GHL to Pay First Bank $112,100, N111m Òver OML 120 Dispute

By Muyiwa Akinola A Nigerian tribunal sitting in Lagos has ordered General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL) to pay First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) $112,100 and N111 million as costs over a dispute related to Oil Mining Lease (OML) 120. Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs gave the order on Tuesday while ruling on a Notice of Arbitration filed by GHL against First Bank. Justice Akaahs held that… []

₦900.8billion Profit Before Tax; GTCO Plc Releases 2025 Q3 Unaudited Results

— GTCO logo By St. Johnson Adegboyega  Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or “the Group”) has released its Unaudited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements as of September 30, 2025, to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE). The Group posted profit before tax of ₦900.8billion on the back of strong performance on the core earnings lines of interest income and fee… []

ZENITH BANK REWARDS SHAREHOLDERS WITH N1.25 KOBO INTERIM DIVIDEND, SETS STAGE FOR RECORD FULL-YEAR RETURNS

By Muyiwa Akinola Zenith Bank Plc, on Friday, October 10, 2025, made good on its promise as it paid a total interim dividend of N51.3 billion to its shareholders for the Half Year (H1) 2025, at N1.25 per share. This significant payout represents over 60% increase from the N31.4 billion paid in H1 2024, demonstrating the bank’s commitment and enhanced capacity to continually generate value… []

Mission Possible – Unity Bank MD Celebrates Resilient Frontline Staff, Reaffirms Commitment to Customer Service Excellence

— Bank’s staff celebrating Customer Service Week 2025 By St. Johnson Adegboyega  The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenezer Kolawole, has said that a service culture built on responsiveness and innovation will differentiate the impact that customer service can make in any organisation. Making the remarks at the flag off of the Customer Service Week 2025 in Unity Bank, Mr. Kolawole… []

CBN Issues New Restrictions On Point of Sale (PoS) Agents

— CBN Building  By St. Johnson Adegboyega  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new restrictions on who can qualify to operate as Point of Sale (PoS) agents under its revised Guidelines for the Operations of Agent Banking in Nigeria, effectively barring individuals with unresolved debts, watch-listed Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), or a history of financial misconduct from participating in the fast-growing agent banking… []

Hydrogen Leads Partnership with Umpaya and Rotary Club District 9111 to Transform E-Waste into Greener Tomorrows

  By St. Johnson Adegboyega  At Hydrogen Payment Services Company Limited, sustainability is not an afterthought, it is a core value that shapes how we innovate, operate, and lead within the financial services industry. Earlier this year, we launched our flagship E-Waste Initiative in partnership with Umpaya, a leading environmental solutions provider, with support from the Rotary Club of Akowonjo District 9111. The initiative began… []

Moniepoint Loses $1.2million In Its First Year Of Operations In The UK

— Moniepoint Logo By St. Johnson Adegboyega Moniepoint incurred a loss of $1.2 million in its first year of operating in the United Kingdom, according to recent regulatory filings. The company did not generate any revenue between February and December 2024, with operations continuing to be funded by its parent company. The fintech, recently named one of the UK’s top fintech companies, entered the UK… []

Investors Wind Down Positions As Fidelity Bank Drops by 11% Market Value On The Nigerian Exchange

— Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc. By Muyiwa Akinola Fidelity Bank Plc lost more than 11% of its market value on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as investors wound down positions amidst sustained delay in earnings release a ‘hanging’ judgement debt in Tier -2- lender. Trading data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that the market of the… []

Access Bank Delivers Free Healthcare Services to Over 300 People in Ikotun Lagos, Nigeria

By St. Johnson Adegboyega Access Bank has reinforced its drive for inclusive development by hosting a rural health outreach in Ikotun, Lagos, under its “One Bank, One Continent – Together for Health” campaign. The outreach is part of the Bank’s wider ESG and CSI commitments to improving quality of life and driving real impact across Africa. The outreach, held recently, delivered free medical services and… []

The Access Group Human Map of Nigeria: A Story Forged in the Sun

By St. Johnson Adegboyega  On Friday, September 27, the skies over Lagos opened with rain, steady, inconvenient, and for many, discouraging. But for the people of Access Holdings and Access Bank, its flagship subsidiary, it was just another obstacle on the path to making history. By midday, the clouds gave way to a blazing sun, harsh and unrelenting. Yet, beneath that heat, hundreds of employees… []

Access Holdings Recognised by Pan-Atlantic University for Championing Youth-Led Sustainability

  By St. Johnson Adegboyega Access Holdings recently welcomed students from Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), who visited the Group’s headquarters to express their appreciation for sponsorship of the EcoMalchemy Plastic-to-Art Project. The initiative, which turned discarded plastic waste into artistic masterpieces now exhibited in a museum, gave students an opportunity to explore how creativity can drive conversations around sustainability and environmental responsibility. As part of their… []

The African Champions, D’Tigress Receive ₦200m Reward From Zenith Bank [PHOTO]

  By St. Johnson Adegboyega Sponsors of the Women National Basketball League, Zenith Bank Plc, on Tuesday at a reception held at their Abuja head office in Maitama, rolled out the drums for the victorious D’Tigress of Nigeria after the team secured a record-breaking 5th back-to-back AfroBasket title. The bank rewarded the team with N200m. Each of the players will receive N10m which will be… []