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 »
FirstRand Ltd. and Standard Bank Group Ltd., South Africa’s two biggest banking groups, have both registered with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to investigate buying distressed lenders in the West African country.
The timetable for buying any of the 10 Nigerian institutions that failed an audit last year will be determined by the CBN, FirstRand CEO Sizwe Nxasana said today. The Johannesburg-based bank said it may prefer to buy one of Nigeria’s “healthier” banks.
FirstRand first mooted its African expansion plans last June while 
Standard Bank already operates in Nigeria through its controlling stake in Stanbic IBTC.
Nigeria’s Fidelity Bank is interested in buying one of nine banks rescued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) earlier this year and is awaiting guidelines on how such a bid would proceed, Fidelity’s CEO Reginald Ihejiahi said on Wednesday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday made good its threat to publish names of non-performing debts – owed mostly by politicians, entrepreneurs, and shareholders/directors – whose companies secured loans totaling N450 billion from five banks. 
