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Nigerians open one million bank accounts monthly, NIBSS reveals

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THE Managing Director, Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr Niyi Ajao on Tuesday revealed that no fewer than one million bank accounts are opened monthly by Nigerians as the nation’s financial inclusion rate increased from 45.4 per cent recorded in 2016 to 63.6 per cent.

The NIBSS boss, Ajao disclosed this at the launch of the 2018 Financial Inclusion Survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) in Lagos.

He observed that with the rise in the rate, the efforts of stakeholders in the financial industry were beginning to pay off.

Ajao, also noted that there was need to do more if the country would meet the 20 per cent exclusion rate by 2020.

According to the survey, 63.6 per cent of Nigeria’s adult population of 99.6 million have access to financial services, while 36.4 per cent, equalling 36.6 million of the adult population are financially excluded.

Out of the 36.6 million adult population that are financially excluded, 55.9 per cent are women, while 44.1 per cent are men.

The survey further showed that 39.7 per cent of the population are banked.

Ajao said that NIBSS, which holds data for the banking industry had recorded up to one million new accounts being opened in banks on a monthly basis.

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He said that majority of the new accounts were opened by people who already had accounts, adding that more than 30 million Bank Verification Number (BVN) holders had continued to make more transactions as the volume of electronic transactions grew.

“When we look at the figures for adult population for EFINA report for 2016, 96.4 million and now 99.6 million.

“This is about 3.3 per cent growth of adult population if you look at the number of financially included, 56.4 million as at 2016 has grown to 63.6 million in 2018 that is a growth of 11 per cent.

“So, the increase is way above the population growth and that means the efforts of all players have yielded fruits but we need to continue with the efforts.

“This is because we still have a lot to conquer if we must achieve the 20 per cent exclusion by 2020.

“We have seen NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) which we use to gauge the payment behaviour of Nigerians from 2016 up,” Ajao said.

He said that the inclusion rate was growing slowly until 2018 when the volume doubled year on year.

“This year by our projection, we will be doing one billion NIP in 2018. We did half of that in 2017.

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“It is clear that what we are experiencing is that it is the few banked people that are doing all the transactions.

“Throughout 2017, the volume of transactions kept on growing, instant payment, Point of Sale (POS), bulk payment, even during the recession when the value of transaction became smaller, we were having more and more volume done.

“That again points out that we are winning the war gradually against cash. More people that would have done cash are now doing e-payment,” Ajao said.

“However, the few banked are the ones doing majority of the transactions.

“This year alone, we have 9.9 BVN holders do all the instant payment transactions we saw in the third quarter and that shows the structure we have in place.

“This growth looks much lower than what we see in the bulk of e-payment, it is this same account holders who are opening new accounts and who are doing more transactions.”

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Bitcoin Hits $50,000 For First Time Since 2021

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A picture taken on February 6, 2018 shows a visual representation of the digital crypto-currency Bitcoin, at the “Bitcoin Change” shop in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Bitcoin surpassed the $50,000 mark on Tuesday, marking its highest value in over two years.

Investor optimism surged as anticipation grew regarding broader trading approval in the US, with hopes riding high on potential green lights for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Despite an initial dip following Washington’s approval signal last month, Bitcoin has rebounded impressively, boasting a 25 percent rally since January 22.

As of the latest data from Bloomberg, the cryptocurrency peaked at $50,328, underscoring the resilience and upward momentum in the crypto market, leaving observers optimistic about its future trajectory.

“Enthusiast buyers bring in more enthusiast buyers pushing prices further up,” Fadi Aboualfa, of Copper Technologies, said.

“The cryptocurrency has momentum on the back of several green weeks and has a large chance of going up further when markets see weekly movements upwards of 10 percent (as we saw last week).”

By 0330 GMT Tuesday, bitcoin had dropped slightly, to $49,950.

While Bitcoin has made an impressive recovery, currently standing above $50,000, it still lags significantly behind its peak value of nearly $69,000 in 2020. This rally signals a bounce-back for the cryptocurrency, which faced turbulent times marked by high-profile scandals and collapses within the crypto industry.

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Last year, FTX, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, suffered a dramatic downfall, with its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, now confronting potential consequences. Prosecutors have characterised the situation as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history,” and Bankman-Fried faces the looming threat of up to 110 years in prison.

In November, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao resigned as CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, following both his and the company’s admission of guilt in extensive money laundering violations.

Bitcoin’s upward trajectory is further fueled by optimism surrounding potential interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year, as inflation appears to be easing. The cryptocurrency’s value is also influenced by an anticipated supply crunch next year, attributed to the recurring event known as “halving.”

Bitcoin, earned through intricate problem-solving by powerful computers in a process called “mining,” experiences a reduction in reward every four years. With the next “halving” scheduled for April, the limited supply dynamic continues to be a driving force behind Bitcoin’s value surge.

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Microsoft Joins Apple In $3 Trillion Club

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Microsoft joined Apple on Wednesday as a three trillion dollar company, as its big bet on artificial intelligence continued to impress Wall Street.

Now second to Apple as the world’s biggest company by market capitalization, Microsoft’s shares were up 1.31 percent at $404.

 

Apple remains narrowly in first place at $3.02 trillion after reaching the $3 trillion market capitalization mark for the first time in January 2022.

 

But it has fallen below the milestone, even briefly losing the pole position as biggest company on the markets when Microsoft briefly overtook the iPhone maker earlier this month.

 

Microsoft more than any other tech giant is riding the wave of excitement over AI.

The Redmond, Washington-based group has a major partnership with OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, that is reportedly worth $13 billion.

Since the arrival of ChatGPT, Microsoft has launched several products enabling companies and individuals to use the capabilities of generative AI, notably via its Bing search engine and Copilot virtual assistant.

Since the launch of ChatGPT in early November 2022, Microsoft shares have gained some 67 percent, with Apple’s up by about 40 percent.

Microsoft publishes its results on January 30.

 

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Nigeria: Shell Announces Sale of Onshore Oil Assets

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In an aerial view, gas prices nearing $6.00 a gallon are displayed at a Shell gas station on February 23, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP

Shell has announced a deal to offload its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), to Renaissance.

The acquiring entity, Renaissance, stands as a consortium comprising four local exploration and production companies in Nigeria, alongside an international energy group.

Shell,  in a Tuesday statement on its website, said, “Completion of the transaction is subject to approvals by the Federal Government of Nigeria and other conditions.

“Transaction will preserve SPDC’s operating capabilities for the benefit of a joint venture. The transaction has been designed to preserve the full range of SPDC’s operating capabilities following the change of ownership. This includes the technical expertise, management systems, and processes that SPDC implements on behalf of all the companies in the SPDC Joint Venture (SPDC JV)”.

But, it said, “SPDC’s staff will continue to be employed by the company as it transitions to new ownership”.

Shell emphasised  that amidst the competitive landscape, the company remains committed to supporting the management of SPDC JV facilities. These facilities play a crucial role in supplying a significant portion of feed gas to Nigeria LNG (NLNG), highlighting Shell’s dedication to assisting the nation in maximizing value from its NLNG endeavors.

“This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our Deepwater and Integrated Gas positions,” Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director Zoë Yujnovich said.

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“It is a significant moment for SPDC, whose people have built it into a high-quality business over many years. Now, after decades as a pioneer in Nigeria’s energy sector, SPDC will move to its next chapter under the ownership of an experienced, ambitious Nigerian-led consortium.

“Shell sees a bright future in Nigeria with a positive investment outlook for its energy sector. We will continue to support the country’s growing energy needs and export ambitions in areas aligned with our strategy.”

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