Keystone Bank Becomes Fully Owned by Federal Government Following Landmark Court Ruling

Keystone Bank Becomes Fully Owned by Federal Government Following Landmark Court Ruling

 

In a significant legal development, the Lagos State Special Offences Court, sitting in Ikeja, has ordered the forfeiture of all shares previously held by the former owners of Keystone Bank Limited, effectively transferring full ownership of the bank to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, marks the culmination of a legal battle over the acquisition of the bank by its previous shareholders—Sigma Golf Nigeria Limited and Alhaji Umaru H. Modibbo. This follows a series of regulatory actions taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address governance concerns within the financial institution.

Background of the Case

The ownership dispute dates back to January 10, 2024, when the CBN announced the dissolution of Keystone Bank’s Board and Management, citing breaches of corporate governance. In response, the Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), initiated legal proceedings at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, to challenge the legitimacy of the bank’s acquisition by its former shareholders.

After months of legal deliberations, the court ruled in favor of the Federal Government, ordering the forfeiture of the bank’s shares held by the former owners. This decision now solidifies the government’s control over the bank, ensuring a new phase of stability and oversight.

Implications for Keystone Bank

With this judgment, Keystone Bank is now fully under the ownership of the Federal Government, providing a clear path for its recapitalization and long-term financial health. The bank has assured its customers, investors, and stakeholders that this transition will not affect its operations but will instead strengthen its stability and growth prospects.

Keystone Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a strong financial position, fulfilling all regulatory obligations, and ensuring customer confidence in its services. The institution remains focused on enhancing its balance sheet, forging strategic partnerships, and driving profitability.

“We want to reassure our customers and stakeholders that Keystone Bank remains safe, stable, and resilient. This development further strengthens our financial standing and enables us to continue delivering value-driven banking solutions,” the bank stated in an official communication.

Next Steps and Future Outlook

As Keystone Bank embarks on this new phase under government ownership, industry analysts anticipate that the move will create opportunities for enhanced restructuring, potential capital injection, and long-term sustainability. The bank’s management has pledged to work closely with regulators to ensure smooth operations and uninterrupted service delivery.

Keystone Bank continues to prioritize customer satisfaction, innovation, and regulatory compliance, positioning itself for a new era of growth in Nigeria’s banking sector.

For more information, visit: www.keystonebankng.com.

Nigerian Banks Face Backlash as Customers Struggle with Digital Disconnect

Nigerian Banks Face Backlash as Customers Struggle with Digital Disconnect

In a recent turn of events, Nigerian banks have come under scrutiny for their stringent National Identity Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) linkage policies, threatening to block accounts by March 1, 2024. The process, likened to navigating the early days of online portals, has left customers frustrated and discontent.

Users report significant challenges with the online portal, reminiscent of the late ’90s and early 2000s, citing delays in receiving One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and system glitches. Complaints about the lack of consideration for the elderly or those without internet access have further fueled discontent.

Despite the banks possessing comprehensive BVN and NIN databases, the handling of customer complaints has raised eyebrows. Live WhatsApp support is marred by extensive delays in message delivery and response times, pushing wait times beyond acceptable standards.

Email communication, touted as an alternative, is criticized for taking a staggering 72 hours for acknowledgment, with response timelines even less predictable. Questions are raised about the purpose of collected NINs and the handling of customer information amassed over the past year.

The frustration extends beyond digital hitches to customer service experiences. Calls to customer care units often result in dropped calls, lack of case records, and repetition of complaints to different representatives. Email trails are neglected, leading to redundant requests for issue clarification.

Critics argue that while Nigerian banks boast sophisticated digital technologies, their operational mindset remains stuck in the 19th century. The call for banks to prioritize relationships over transactions gains traction, emphasizing the need for a customer-centric approach.

Notably, the discontent echoes a broader sentiment of societal dissatisfaction with inefficiencies and individualistic trends. The critique extends beyond banking to encompass the broader challenges faced in daily life, from utilities to infrastructure and societal systems.

As Nigeria navigates these challenges, the call for a shift from individualism to collective solutions reverberates, urging institutions to address customer grievances promptly and adopt a more holistic approach to service delivery.

Why PalmPay Is Playing Big in the Digital Banking Space- Chika Nwosu

Why PalmPay Is Playing Big in the Digital Banking Space- Chika Nwosu

 

 

 

PalmPay, a leading Africa-focused fintech platform, has said that the future of money is now; therefore, the company has put in place adequate infrastructure, and the right measures to ensure that its millions of customers are guaranteed adequate security.

 

Speaking while making a presentation titled “Future of Money, Security, Customer Experience (CX)” at the Africa Tech Alliance (AfriTECH 3.0) held at The Providence Hotel, Ikeja GRA, last week, Mr. Chika Nwosu, the Managing Director of PalmPay, said that besides the operator putting the right things in place, the consumers also must the aware of how to protect themselves.

 

Nwosu who was represented at the Forum by Temitayo Oduwole, Head of IT and Payments at PalmPay, recounted the origin of money and its evolution to this moment and said that people are gradually moving away from paper money, where physical cash transactions are made, to what is today known as digital money where online and digital transactions now hold sway.

 

“All the services that we need are driven by technology, even the medium of exchange is also driven by technology. And the future of money right now is digital. If you look at the before and the now, right now because money has gone digital, we are experiencing a kind of transformation in the digital space. In terms of convenience, in terms of the ease of payment, that is what the future of money holds and that’s what we’re getting right now.

 

“I’m sure most people don’t even go around with cash again. Any transaction that you want to do, you can easily do that transaction on your phone, using your mobile wallet, using your card. So that is how money has transformed from being a cash-oriented medium to a digital medium right now,” he said.

 

Nwosu said PalmPay was prepared for this new regime of money and put a lot of robust infrastructure in place for risk management aimed at balancing the user experience with security in its app, adding that it has ensured that at any point in time, it puts measures in place that forestall a customer’s account being compromised.

 

“We have an AI in place, a logic that understands the pattern of your account, the pattern of your transaction. If it sees that somebody is doing something irrational or something out of the ordinary that you do on a normal day, because of the pattern that we’ve been able to build, we can block that transaction.

 

“And because we’re also going to have to look at technology-as-a-service, rather than having our infrastructure on prep, we’re having our infrastructure on the cloud. These are things that speak to infrastructure as a service, and technology-as-a-service, and are driving our reliability and sustainability today,” Nwosu said.

 

Nwosu admitted that though digital money is essential due to its speed, convenience, and accessibility, it also comes with its own threats and its own security challenges, especially in the face of nefarious activities around cybercrime.

 

“There are different channels by which people can access their money. However, in accessing this money, there is a potential challenge of having your funds being taken over by some people that you don’t want them to have access to it. There are lots of things happening around the future of money in terms of safety and in terms of security.

 

“We have online fraud. We have a local simulation. Identity theft is on the rise. We are being infused into devices, into servers. We have phishing in which e-mails are sent to deceive you to believe that the e-mails are coming from a genuine source. These are things that can affect or impact the digital money currency.

 

“The most important thing, again, is that at any point in time, as much as we are creating the environment to make sure that fraud is actually reduced in terms of cyber security, we are addressing all the things that need to be addressed so that from a digital money perspective, we are able to access the money without any fear. We can do a transaction without any fear.

 

“It’s also very important to understand that any time a fraud happens, a notification is very important. Next slide, please. Lack of security awareness is top of the reasons why consumers are scammed or defrauded. And what we try to do in PalmPay is to raise that awareness, to let our customers know that their personal information is only personal to them,” he said.

 

The Managing Director stated that lack of knowledge to protect personal information, patronizing fake sites and social media pages, and attempts or pivots on unofficial channels, are some of the things that could lead to customers being scammed or defrauded.

 

On PalmPay’s approach to enhancing customer security on its app, Nwosu said over the past four years it has been in the Nigerian market, it has been able to marry security with customer experience, which has remained the attraction to its brand.

 

“What we’ve done is binding. Your phone is bound such that even if you change your phone, you put in your credentials, and there’s an OTP that has been sent to revalidate and authorize the customer who is trying to do that transaction. One of the other things that we’ve also done to make sure that our customers are well protected is to have an inactive session set up.

 

“An inactive session has to do with if you’re not doing anything on your app, then it’s time out. It doesn’t give room for people to have access to that phone or your mobile app and try to do something. Because if you keep the mobile app up, anybody could actually have access to it, and they could do any transaction. Not to forget the fact that for every transaction that you do as well, it’s been enabled. We have a metric just to make sure that it is the right person that is accessing your account at any point in time,” Nwosu concluded.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s 35th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM)

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s 35th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM)

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI”), the parent of the Ecobank Group (www.Ecobank.com), the leading pan-African bank with a presence in 35 African countries, held its 35th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and an Extra Ordinary General Meeting, today in Lomé, Togo.

 

At the meeting, shareholders approved the accounts and the appropriation of profits for 2022. In addition, shareholders voted for the re-election of Mr Simon Dornoo, Professor Enase Okonedo, Dr George Donkor, Mr Deepak Malik and Ms Zanele Monnakgotla as directors of ETI. The co-option of the Managing Director, Mr Jeremy Awori, as a director, was also ratified.

In addition, the return on tangible equity of 21.1% in 2022 is the highest Ecobank has achieved in the last decade

Furthermore, shareholders approved the resolution authorising to raise senior-ranked debt, additional Tier 1, Tier 2-qualifying subordinated debt or a combination of any of these forms of instruments as the board of directors may deem appropriate.

Alain Nkontchou, Ecobank Group Chairman, said: “Ecobank is a powerhouse in the African banking landscape and is positioned to support and facilitate the growth and development of African businesses as they grasp the immense single market opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area. Quite simply, Ecobank is the solution for SMEs and corporates. The strength of our borderless payment, collection, working capital and financing solutions exemplifies this.”

Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, commented: “In 2022, Ecobank demonstrated strong financial results and performance, despite the challenging economic conditions of high interest rates, inflation, and Ghana’s debt restructuring. This success can be attributed to the bank’s diversified business model, digital expertise, innovative approaches, growth momentum, and efficiency. These strengths allowed the bank to navigate the adverse economic environment, absorb the impact of the debt restructuring, and continue to thrive.”

The holding company’s (ETI) profit for the year was $222 million compared with $295 million in 2021. The Group’s profit before tax, net revenue and total assets increased by 13 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent, to $540 million, $1,862 million and $29,004 million, respectively. In addition, the return on tangible equity of 21.1% in 2022 is the highest Ecobank has achieved in the last decade. For the first quarter of 2023, our Group performance results are showing momentum as we continue to benefit from our pan-African and diversified business model, efficiency, balance sheet stability, deep customer relationships and the hard and smart work of all Ecobankers.

Ecobank is one of the leading banking groups in Africa and by far the largest in terms of countries of presence. It is renowned for its continuous delivery of innovation and excellence in customer service to its broad range of Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking customers. The bank has significantly invested in its digital capabilities, including mobile banking, internet banking and payments infrastructure. This focus on digital banking enables it to reach more customers, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

UNION SYSTEMS LIMITED BANKING SOLUTIONS MEET GLOBAL STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES

UNION SYSTEMS LIMITED BANKING SOLUTIONS MEET GLOBAL STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES

 

 

Union Systems Limited (USL), Africa’s leading  finance software company  located in Victoria Island Lagos has recently made industry players in finance and tech space to understand the unique product(s) offerings that they have and places they have deployed in in various banks in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. This product(s) expose to the media has been lauded by financial players, describing their various solutions like Kachasi international Trade Finance solution and other financial solutions such as Sakobia, Optimus, EGORA and Tentacles as world-class.

Speaking to the team of journalist, Chuks Onyebuchi, the Chief Executive Officer of Union System Limited described Union Systems as “USL has been a player in the delivery of financial software solutions to financial institutions for over 2 decades, in this time, we have seen a steady increase in the intricacies of software requirements from these institutions as their process have evolved to suit the increasing sophistications of their customers. This has inevitably brought about the demand for more efficient but simpler to use solutions, this is what USL prides herself in being able to continuously deliver.

He added that “USL is a financial technology provider, we however deal primarily at the provision of business to business (B2B) enterprise financial software solutions. These solutions have a longer development cycle, a longer implementation cycle and are very integral to achieving the objectives of the financial institutions that adopts them…These implementations and many others have not only been successful but have helped these banks meet their strategic objectives. Our solutions are very flexible and highly configurable eliminating almost completely the need for customizations. This has increased the rate of adoption within our client’s organization and faster return on investments (ROI).”

On the Union System seamless integration to the CBN monitoring, Chuks opined that “The TRMS is one of several regulatory portals through which the CBN monitors specific international trade and treasury related transactions. Through collaboration with major financial institutions in Nigeria, we had integrated to similar regulatory portals such as the NSW, NCS and the NIBBS portal, so the integration of the TRMS portal was achieved with little challenges. It also helped that we were involved, also through our existing collaborations, with the testing of the initially release pilot version.”

On products acceptability in various countries and banks, Onyebuchi said “USL has demonstrated this already with our flagship Kachasi international Trade Finance solution and our other financial solutions (Sakobia, Optimus, EGORA and tentacles). The same can be said about other sectors of the economy such as health, agriculture, education and so on where we have Nigerians driving change and competing effectively. As the support and adoption for world-class indigenous solutions, such as ours, increases, Nigerians will continue to break the glass ceiling and produce software that can compete on a global stage. Kachasi is in production in 5 commercial and merchant banks in Nigeria today. We are in advanced stages of negotiation with several other banks in Nigeria and Kenya.”

The company has built a robust support system for their clients and customers that have virtually eliminated downtime in their platform,” Our approach to support starts with building capacities within the banks right from the implementation stage thereby ensuring a formidable first line of support from within and that the right sense of ownership is attained before the end of the implementation project. Where the bank is unable to solve the problem with its first line of support, the issue is logged on our support portal, ISURA, where our team of experts representing a second line of support are available for prompt resolution”, Chuks said.

As Africa’s leading trade finance software company for over 20 years, the company has been delivering future thinking trade finance software solutions to banks and corporates in Africa to achieve full automation and digitization of their trade operations. Our trade finance software solutions deliver growth, profitability, and regulatory compliance to banks and corporates.

With headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, the company has a deep understanding of the African market and a team of highly qualified consultants with real-world experience in the delivery of complex software solutions. They have been creating software solutions that solve business problems and provide professional services that give value to our customers such as Kachasi (previously Trade-X), Optimus (Single and multibank), Isura, Sakobia, Tentacles and Egora were all designed and developed by USL in their Lagos, Nigeria Head office. A major advantage of adopting their solutions is the elimination of the need to source for FX to license them

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our approach to support starts with building capacities within the banks right from the implementation stage thereby ensuring a formidable first line of support from within and that the right sense of ownership is attained before the end of the implementation project. Where the bank is unable to solve the problem with its first line of support, the issue is logged on our support portal, ISURA, where our team of experts representing a second line of support are available for prompt resolution”