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Tag: Stanbic IBTC

  • Gender parity: Stanbic IBTC reiterates equal opportunity credential

    Stanbic IBTC has pledged to continue to advance the cause of its women workforce as it strengthens its equal opportunity policy. This pledge was made at the 2018 Stanbic IBTC Blue Women Network (BWN) event in Lagos to commemorate the International Women’s Day, themed “Press for Progress”. According to the financial institution, women constitute over 42% of its workforce.

    The Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Mr Yinka Sanni, in his opening speech at the BWN event, said Stanbic IBTC has shown, through its women-rich leadership, that it is indeed an equal opportunity employer. “I am pleased to note that our female colleagues continue to rise up to leadership roles across the Group,” Sanni said. According to the CE, “Stanbic IBTC remains an equal opportunity organisation where anyone can attain heights that their education, talent, performance, leadership, skill, experience and determination can take them.” Such attainment is generally a function of ability and preparedness, he added.

    The Stanbic IBTC Blue Women Network is a platform established to provide the women in Stanbic IBTC the opportunity to engage and share knowledge among themselves and in the process gain new insights that will enhance their professional skills. The platform is also expected to support their all-round growth through information sharing, best practice and mentorship to help develop their leadership skills and advance their career prospects.

    The event had two panel sessions where practical steps women needed to take to press for progress were discussed. Mentorship and support among women resonated among participants at the event. According to the panellists, who were drawn from within the Stanbic IBTC Group, knowledge and experience transfer through mentorship is imperative if the younger female members are to appropriately channel their talents and skills in a way to maximise opportunities for leadership and growth.

    In her opening speech as chairperson of BWN, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Trustees, Binta Max-Gbinije, said women have a responsibility to ensure relevance in their sphere of influence. She said she was proud that Stanbic IBTC is a shining example of an equal opportunity employer, and that women who occupy very strategic roles in Stanbic IBTC continue to fly the flag admirably. She, therefore, encouraged the women to take advantage of this to aspire to leadership positions in their various business segments and across the Stanbic IBTC Group.

    The 2018 Edition of the Blue Women Network Magazine was officially unveiled at the well-attended event. The BWN is an initiative of Stanbic IBTC – with a focus on deliberately driving career growth and development of Stanbic IBTC women.

     

  • Amazing success tips resonate at inaugural Stanbic IBTC Youth Leadership Series

    Living up to its theme, Against The Odds, the maiden edition of the Stanbic IBTC Youth Leadership Series provided a platform where three exceptional Nigerians spoke on the imperative of resilience, hardwork and perseverance to achieve individual, corporate and national goals.

    The event, which held in Lagos on Thursday 25 January, 2018, attracted a huge audience of students and youth, bankers, investors, artists, captains of industry, and the business community.

    Guest speakers, Kechi Okwuchi, a survivor of the ill-fated Sosoliso plane crash of December 2005; Member Feese, survivor of the United Nations Building bomb blast in Abuja; and Cobhams Asuquo, renowned music producer who was born blind, said if they could become role models by overcoming the grim challenges they faced, then nobody should give up the quest to succeed.

    In his welcome address, Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Mr. Yinka Sanni, said underlining the youth empowerment motivational series is a mission by the organization to inspire the youth, who are the leaders of today, not tomorrow, to strive to achieve their potential, regardless of the odds. The three lead speakers, he said, symbolized what is when people imbibe the evergreen cliché – “where there is a will, there is a way.”

    The future of Nigeria and Africa is in the hands of the youth and there is no better time to arouse and deepen their knowledge and entrepreneurial skills than now. He said Stanbic IBTC is constantly exploring innovative ways of expanding the scope of its coverage and focus on the youth segment, otherwise known as the millennials, given the importance of the demography to national development, entrepreneurship drive and economic growth and development of the nation.

    “The Youth Leadership Series is tailored after the annual Stanbic IBTC Business Leadership Series, an annual event that facilitates the sharing of knowledge and information among local and international participants who are drawn from key sectors of the economy. The overarching objective is to stimulate deeper engagements and outcomes for the sectors as well as unlock investment opportunities in the country,” Sanni said. He added that the Group decided it had become imperative for it to retool and re-strategize its efforts geared towards building the next generation of Nigerian leaders – the youths, in line with its commitment to growing that very important segment of the society.

    “The popular saying that children are the leaders of tomorrow, as cliché as it may sound, for us at Stanbic IBTC, we believe that the youths are the leaders for today and because we understand just how easily one can get distracted or discouraged by the different challenges we face in our lives; our youths therefore need to be aptly and constantly guided, mentored, inspired and motivated, not just to attain their goals but in order for them to actualize their full potential,” Sanni added.

    Member Feese said the grace of God and prayers of Nigerians made her stronger and more determined to live and succeed, in the aftermath of the Abuja bomb blast, as the easier option would have been to live with the pain and trauma of the experience for the rest of her life. She pledged to continue with her advocacy work to support and encourage people in similar situations.

    Kechi Okwuchi, who survived the Sosoliso crash, later went ahead to bag a First Class Degree from the University of Thomas Houston, Texas and emerged a finalist at America’s Got Talent. Her simple message to anyone faced with any affliction is: “don’t let your pains stunt you growth” and ‘don’t allow the scars to retard you.”

    Cobahms Asuquo, the only blind child among seven siblings, said his condition gave him no choice than to live with it and find fulfillment. The first survival principle he learned early in life was to negotiate, which gave him the room to get what he lacked and to take control of his destiny. He urged people to always bring something to the table as “nobody owes you anything. You must work until nobody sees your disability. What they will see is your ability and contributions to society. Your disability simply disappears.”

    “Through the travails, experiences and achievements of these exceptional young individuals, in spite of the hard-knock life and the odds, we hope to inspire, motivate and provoke the can-do spirit of our youth community and imbibe in them the strength of character, and tenacity to never give up but to constantly aspire to attain their full potential in life,” Sanni concluded.

  • Stanbic IBTC retains AAA national Fitch ratings

    Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC and its holding company, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, have retained their AAA national ratings by Fitch Ratings, the global leader in credit ratings, reaffirming their strong fundamentals and stability, especially the ability to meet their financial commitments as they fall due.

    In the report issued yesterday, Monday, November 27, 2017, the two institutions recorded AAA (nga) national long term rating, which provides a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated institutions in Nigeria. The AAA national rating is assigned to an institution with the lowest relative risk.

    In arriving at the rating for Stanbic IBTC, Fitch took account of the strong parental support from Standard Bank Group, to which Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC belongs, as the group provides support in such areas as staff training, provision of information technology upgrades and best practice processes as well as strong corporate governance practices.

    “Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC’s (SIBTCH) National Ratings are based on potential support from its parent, South Africa’s Standard Bank Group Limited (SBG/Group; BB+/Stable), if required. Our view of institutional support considers SIBTCH’s strategic importance to SBG, high levels of integration between the parent and the subsidiary, as well as SBG’s majority shareholding in SIBTCH (53.2% through Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited),” the agency stated.

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and Stanbic IBTC Bank received similar ratings in 2016 and February 2017 after a thorough examination of its credit process and financial results. The bank’s diversified loan portfolio was reviewed, with its impact on various sectors of the economy taken into account. “One of SIBTCH’s main strengths is its diversified earnings. Non-interest income generation is high and underpinned by fees and commissions and trading income. Loan impairment charges are high, but manageable in the context of strong earnings. Costs are well controlled. As a result, profitability metrics are healthy,” Fitch added.

    In its report, the rating agency also reviewed the capital adequacy of Stanbic IBTC in compliance with regulations and concluded that it was very strong and compare favourably against peers. “Fitch expects these levels to be maintained.” The liquidity position of Stanbic IBTC was reviewed and its ability to meet foreign currency obligations as they fall due. The Group was certified as having “good funding profile and very good liquidity” as customer deposits grew strongly by 13 percent in the first half of 2017 with the bank rolling out new delivery channels. “Balance sheet liquidity is underpinned by large volumes of government securities. Additionally, SIBTCH’s loans/deposits ratio at 62% is one of the lowest among peers.”

    Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Mr. Yinka Sanni, said the ratings are a clear testament of the financial institution’s strength, strong leadership and the unyielding support of its parent company. He reiterated Stanbic IBTC’s commitment to the Nigerian market and pledged it will continue to provide support to all sectors of the economy in order to keep moving individuals and businesses forward. “We are elated by this validation of our strength. This will help to boost our drive to build a strong end-to-end financial solutions institution that offers bespoke products and services to our clientele. Our commitment to supporting the attainment of Nigeria’s developmental aspirations remains resolute,” Sanni said.

  • Stanbic IBTC attracts N413.62 billion capital inflows into Nigeria

    Stanbic IBTC attracts N413.62 billion capital inflows into Nigeria

    Stanbic IBTC, a member of Standard Bank Group, in the second quarter of this year, facilitated a staggering $589.84 million capital inflow into the country, ranking it first among financial institutions that imported capital into Nigeria.

    The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its Capital Importation Q2 2017 Report, stated that Stanbic IBTC accounted for 32.91 percent ($589.84 million or N216.47 billion) of the total share during the period, representing an increase of 9.12 percent over the $536.78 million it posted in the first quarter of the year. That brings to $1.127 billion (N413.62 billion) capital importation by Stanbic IBTC in the first six months of the year.

    The trio of Stanbic IBTC, Citibank Nigeria and Standard Chartered Bank accounted for 70.7 percent or $1,267.8 million of the total $1.792 billion capital importation during the quarter, while the other 22 banks generated the rest.

    According to the report, Portfolio Investments was the key mover of capital during the quarter, growing by 145.7 percent, followed by Other Investments, which rose by 95.02 percent, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by 29.8 percent over the first quarter. In figures, Portfolio Investment accounted for $770.5 million, or 43.0 percent of the total. In second place was Other Investments with $747.5 million, or 41.7 percent, and FDI with $274.4 or 15.3 percent.

    The accomplishment reflects Stanbic IBTC strength, strong leadership and unyielding support of its parent company, the 154 year-old Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest financial institution.

    Stanbic IBTC has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the Nigerian market and often pledged that it will continue to provide support to all sectors of the economy in moving individuals and businesses forward. This is also in synergy with the drive to build a leading end-to-end financial solutions institution that offers bespoke products and services to its clientele.

    The NBS report showed that the bulk of capital imported into Nigeria in Q2 came from the United Kingdom, which accounted for $696.7 million or 38.87 percent of the total. The second largest value of capital importation came from the United States with $287.82 million or 16.06 percent.

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC is a member of Standard Bank Group, a full service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management. Stanbic IBTC belongs to the Standard Bank Group, the largest African financial institution by assets and earnings. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 20 countries on the African continent. Standard Bank has been in operation for 154 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services institutions in chosen countries in Africa; and connecting selected emerging markets to Africa by applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, power and infrastructure.

  • Etisalat debt predicament: 13 Banks’ shareholders mount huge pressure

    …ask telecoms firm to clear debt

    Shareholders of the 13 banks involved in the N1.2 billion loan for Etisalat Nigeria have asked the telecoms company to pay up its debt in order to guarantee the payment of annual dividends.

    The shareholder group told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday that the company risks legal action by the banks if it failed to settle its outstanding loan obligation.

    The National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, said the affected banks should approach the court for receivership if Etisalat failed to settle the debt.

    Mr. Okezie said in view of the obligations the banks have to their shareholders, in terms of dividend payment at the end of the financial year, it was incumbent on Etisalat to pay the debt.

    On his part, the Chairman of Nigeria Professional Shareholders Association, Godwin Anono, said the company was under obligation to settle the debt, since the transaction was in line with the customer-bank relationship, involving terms and conditions that must be obeyed.‎

    Mr. Anono said the shareholders were in support of the banks’ move to acquire the company if it failed to settle the loan.

    “This is like any other transaction. It’s not government business. I stand on existing protocol to say that the banks should acquire the company if it fails to settle the debt,” he said.

    The Head Research, SCM Capital Ltd, Sewa Wusu, said where there was any breach of the terms and conditions of the loan between Etisalat and the consortium of banks, then the normal legal process should be followed.‎

    Mr. Wusu said the issue was beginning to elicit concerns in the banking industry considering the amount involved and its potential impact on the balance sheets of the banks banks.

    “Since the monetary authority is also involved in the negotiation, I am sure this will ensure prompt settlement of the situation among the parties,” he said.

    Etisalat had obtained a $1.2 billion (N377.4 billion) syndicated loan in 2013, from a consortium of 13 Nigerian banks, to finance a major network rehabilitation, upgrade and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria.

    The consortium of banks include Access Bank, Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

    Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank have the top three exposures of the total loan – N80 billion, N42 billion and N40 billion respectively.

    Etisalat Nigeria said last week it had paid about half of the initial loan (about N504billion), leaving a total outstanding sum of about $574 million.

    >>Also read: United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat Group says willingness to release its brand name is conditional