Money

The banking industry’s Information Technology (IT) architecture, just like every other aspects in the sector, has had its own reforms, in the recent times. Of course, the aim is to ensure that banks adopt global best practices, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) takes the lead in introducing guidelines and framework for the industry.

OVER the years, public finance administration in Nigeria by both elected and appointed officials have established a pattern of corruption and unaccountability, thereby entrenching looting of public treasury as an unwritten norm. 

The long running dispute between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) over amendment of Acts seems unsettling, with the later asking for more power, which the former has said will lead to clash of roles and anarchy. CHIJIOKE NELSON and LUCKY ORIOHA write on their relationship before now and the implications of the new development.

Charles Nwodo Jnr is the Executive Chairman, XL Africa Group Ltd, a services group with active operating subsidiaries offering diverse services in many sectors of the economies of many African countries and the U.S. An alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the University of Lagos, Harvard Business School, Boston Massachusetts, and the New York…

THE global economic recovery, which has been assessed as uneven with manifest divergences across countries and regions, has however, been supported by Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) as the major drivers of global growth, although it is currently moderating in some countries.

Foreign Exchange (forex) and money market rates may have recorded relative calm and stability going by last week’s transactions’ details, a marked difference from the volatility that engulfed the system in recent weeks.

THE plummeting profile of the foreign exchange reserves, which has been a constant feature since the beginning of the year, has finally hit 2010 record low to $29.3 billion from $29.8 billion of the previous week.

he Nigerian tomato paste market, which has a few indigenous producers, is dominated by imported products. Erisco Foods Limited is one of the indigenous producers. Following recent concerns of sub-standard and adulterated products flooding the market, however, the President of the food company, Eric Umeofia reassures consumers that its range of products remains one of the few in the country certified good for consumption.

NO doubt, the nation’s economy needs change. But change on what? Of course, change in all economic indices- external and internal. These include our foreign exchange (forex) rate, forex reserves, reversal of outflow of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), other macroeconomic fundamentals, but mostly, the nation’s mode of prioritization of expenditure and allocation of resources.

IN recent times, it has become clearer that intellectual capital and technology now rule the world. Almost all businesses, especially in advanced economies have become aware that they must adapt to the changing technology or be left behind.

Just like the demise of Lehman Brothers in the heat of the 2008 financial crisis engendered the Systematically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) theory in the United States, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention to salvage the banking system in 2008, orchestrated the equivalent in Nigeria. The tottering financial system, the CBN said, depended on the SIFI banks as it pronounced them ‘too big to fail.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank), established in 1894, is the premier bank in West Africa, Nigeria’s number one bank brand and the leading financial services solutions provider in the country. The bank was founded by Sir Alfred Jones, a shipping magnate from Liverpool, England. With its head office originally in Liverpool, the bank commenced business on a modest scale in Lagos, under the name, Bank of British West Africa (BBWA).