Author: Julius Alagbe

Access Holdings Plc. Names Innocent Ike GMD/CEO Access Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Innocent Ike as the substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective August 29, 2025, following the receipt of regulatory approval. In an official statement, the group said Mr. Ike will succeed Ms. Bolaji Agbede, who has served as the company’s acting group managing director/chief executive officer for the past 18 months and has played a vital role in driving the company’s performance. Due to regulatory stipulations on the required years of experience for a Financial Holding Company’s Managing Director, Ms. Agbede…

CBN Sells Additional OMO Bills to Investors at 26.49% The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted another open market operation on Wednesday and offered N300 billion in OMO bills that will mature in 83 days for subscription. After a successful outing on Tuesday, the CBN floated another single-tenor OMO bill for subscription at the primary market. Foreign portfolio investors and local banks played actively again at the auction, which saw about a threefold subscription against the offer size. Details from the auction results revealed that aggregate demand was robust, as reflected in a bid-to-offer ratio of 2.9x. Investment bankers said…

Nvidia Earnings Confirm AI’s Dominance as Markets Sit at Record Highs Nvidia has reported stronger-than-expected earnings and revenues, with sales guidance of $54 billion for the current quarter, reinforcing that artificial intelligence demand is driving an unprecedented expansion of infrastructure. This latest confirmation cements AI as the most powerful force shaping global markets, says global financial advisory giant deVere Group in a statement made available to MarketForces Africa. The results landed as the S&P 500 sits at an all-time high, after closing up more than 0.2% on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite…

Investors Get 26.50% Interest Rate on CBN OMO Bills The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted another open market operation where OMO bills worth N400 billion were offered to foreign portfolio investors and local deposit money banks. The authority announced new OMO bills for subscription on Tuesday as it consolidates liquidity management efforts in the money market. At the primary market auction, the CBN floated N400 billion worth of OMO bills for subscription. The total sum was for 84-day to maturity OMO bills. The auction was opened to reduce the liquidity boost from recently expired OMO bills. The CBN, however,…

Nigerian Banks Ready to Exit Longstanding Forbearance The vast majority of Nigerian banks are expected to exit longstanding forbearance by the end of 2025, even though the expiry of forbearance will lead to some large Stage 2 loans being reclassified as impaired, Fitch Ratings says in a new peer credit analysis on the country’s major banks. The Nigerian banking sector remains subject to highly burdensome regulations, inflation and interest rates are forecast to remain high in the near term, and the expiry of longstanding system wide forbearance at end-1H25 will lead to notably higher impaired loans ratios and pressure on…

Nigeria Hikes Rate on Reopened 7-Year Bond to 18% Nigeria has increased the interest rate on 7-year reopened local bonds by 2.10% to 18%, details from Debt Management Office (DMO) auction results revealed. The authority opened N200 billion in local bonds for subscription at the primary market auction for the month of August, a sharp increase compared with N80 billion offer size in July. The auction featured a new local bond, which is to expire in Aug 2030, and the reopening of FGN papers, which is expected to mature in Jun 2032. Total subscription printed at N268.17 billion across the…

Naira Depreciates as Total FX Inflow Declines to $751.70m The naira depreciated as total FX inflow at the Nigerian foreign exchange market declined to $751.70 million amidst Central Bank (CBN) intervention. According to data from the CBN, the official exchange rate depreciated to N1536.43 per dollar on Monday from N1535.03 from the previous close. The spot FX rate reached an intraday high of N1537, reflecting heightened demand for foreign currency at the official window. Recall that the Naira weakened against the US Dollar in the forex market last week, depreciating by 0.16% week on week to close at N1,535.04/US$1, after…

Financial Stocks Fuel Intraday Rally on Nigerian Exchange Financial stocks fuelled an intraday rally in the Nigerian stock market on Monday. The local bourse had posted negative last week as a result of profit-taking activities. The trend reversed during early trading hours as the market witnessed significant buying activities. Trading data reviewed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that some investors re-entered positions at lower prices, and some bellwether banking names surged ahead of their respective earnings releases. At midday, the NGX All Share Index witnessed a gain of 0.11%, Alpha Morgan Capital Limited told investors in an emailed note,…

Fitch Affirms the United States of America at ‘AA+’, Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has affirmed the United States of America’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘AA+’ with a Stable Outlook. According to the rating note, the United States’ sovereign rating benefits from its large economy, high per capita income, dynamic business environment, and exceptional financing flexibility due to the U.S. dollar’s role as the preeminent global reserve currency. However, high fiscal deficits, a substantial interest burden, and high and rising government debt levels—more than double the ‘AA’ rating medians—constrain the rating. The U.S. has not taken meaningful…

Investors Take Profit on Nigerian Bonds Ahead of Fresh Supply The average yield on Nigerian government bonds increased by eight basis points, or 8 bps, ahead of fresh supply at the primary market auction on Monday. Bond trading fluctuated in the secondary market while the authorities mopped up N1.2 trillion via OMO and Treasury bills sales. Trading activities ended on a bearish, though relatively calmer, note, as investors reacted to the higher-than-expected stop rate at the Nigerian Treasury bills auction.Fixed income market analysts saw a mild bearish tone dominating sentiment for most of the week. Activity was largely concentrated on…