Group Managing Director/CEO UBA Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu has applauded the establishment of credit bureaus in Nigeria describing it as a historic milestone in the financial services sector in the country. ChairmanKing.com recently reported that Nigeria hopes to boost lending with the launch of three credit bureaus, namely Credit Reference Company (CRC), Credit Registry, and XDS Credit Bureau.
Tony Elumelu, whose goodwill address was delivered on his behalf by UBA’s Executive Director and Group Chief Finance Officer Mr. Victor Osadolor, at the launch of the Credit Reference Company (CRC) Credit Bureau Limited in Lagos recently, said the move represent a positive response to the problem of accurate lending in the banking sector.
According to him credit bureaus in the Nigerian market will engender a smooth coordination and cooperation among operators in the industry, ensuring transparency in the system, and providing accurate information and thus creating a conducive environment for the borrowers and lenders to transact business. Read the rest of this entry »
Nigeria’s four largest banks will boost their domestic market share, leaving smaller rivals behind, following an audit by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of lenders operating in the country, Renaissance Capital (RenCap) said. 
Nigeria’s Access Bank plans to raise fresh debt once its current N13.5 billion ($90 million) 3-year bond expires at the end of December, Group Managing Director Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede said on Friday. “Access Bank has a bond that is alive and as the bond is running off this year, we intend to issue a fresh one. We intend to issue a new tranche to diversify our capital and funding structure,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.
Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) will seek approval for a N200 billion debt issue at an extraordinary general meeting on August 27, Guaranty Trust Bank said in a notice published on Friday.
Nigerian banks are in a fierce competition for new business as companies try to bolster their balance sheets before stricter reporting standards are imposed at the end of the year, industry officials said. Sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy sees itself as rivaling Johannesburg in the coming years as an African financial services hub, but its banking transparency lags even smaller rivals such as Kenya.
After wowing the world with their recapitalisation exercise, Nigerian banks quickly fell into bad habits and a stock market bubble swiftly followed. However, some of them are beginning to see the light.
