Author: Julius Alagbe

GCR Affirms Sterling Bank Rating with Stable Outlook GCR Ratings has affirmed Sterling Bank Limited’s national scale long- and short-term issuer ratings of BBB (NG) and A3 (NG), respectively. According to a rating note, the rating agency concurrently affirmed Sterling Investment Management SPV Plc’s N32.89 billion Series 2 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond rating of BBB-(NG), with a stable outlook. The national scale long- and short-term issuer ratings of Sterling Bank Limited reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the non-operating consolidated group, Sterling Financial Holding Company Plc, GCR said. The group comprises Sterling and The Alternative Bank, while the latter…

It has been long since the equities market witnessed an impactful dividend surprise by a banking group until UBA Group played a fresh dividend payment card that put its rivals into checkmate.

Interbank rates dropped as liquidity pressures in the financial system eased on Monday.

Naira Mixed as Nigeria’s External Reserves Cross $38 Billion The Nigerian local currency, the naira, traded on a mixed note across the foreign exchange market on Monday (FX) as gross balance in external reserves crossed $38 billion. According to data from the Central Bank portal, Nigeria’s foreign reserves increased to $38.058 billion from $37.868 billion. The sustained US dollar inflow into the foreign reserves has raised hope of further FX intervention as mounting pressure keeps the naira at the edge. According to FX spot data from the FMDQ platform, the naira depreciated by 0.08%, closing at ₦1,541.94 per US dollar…

UBA, OANDO Drive Nigerian Exchange Higher by N58bn Positive price movement in UBA, Oando Plc drove equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) higher by about N58 billion at the beginning of the new week. The market closed positive, inspired by upticks in OANDO (+9.84%), UBA (+9.90%) and ACCESSCORP (+5.64%), which outweighed selloffs in BUACEMENT (-3.42%) FBNH (-4.09%). The bargain hunting on banking names, and other indexes resulted in the NGX All-Share index inching upwards by 0.10% to print at 98,558.79 points. Trading activities in the equities market ended on a mixed note as the total volume traded for…

Ecobank, the leading pan-African financial services group, announced Daba Finance, the Ivorian Fintech, as the Grand Winner of its flagship Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2024.

Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) has changed the outlook on the Government of Togo to stable from negative, and affirmed the B3 domestic and foreign currency long-term issuer ratings.

Nigeria’s Eurobond Yield Rises to 9.6% as Foreign Investors Adjust In Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobond market, sell pressure across the short, mid, and long ends of the yield curve resulted in a 0.13% rise in the average yield, reaching 9.6% in the just concluded week. The market has been adjusting to US Fed rates slash, while the local authority increased benchmark interest rate to 27. 25% in Sept kick started some portfolio adjustment in the market. Macroeconomic data suggests Nigeria’s economic is going positive in terms of disinflation and economic growth. However, the risk off sentiment on Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobond was…

Brent Falls by 5% to $71 amidst Demand Concerns Oil prices are on track for a weekly decline on Friday with expectation of an increase in major oil producers amid weakening global demand. Brent fell by 4.8% to $71 per barrel over an unimpressive demand outlook.  West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the American benchmark, traded at $67.60 a barrel.  Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is expected to ramp up output from December in a bid to reclaim market share. In June, the OPEC+ group, consisting of OPEC members and other big producers…

Nigerian Treasury Bills Yield Rises as Discount Rates Increase The average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills spiked as investors reacted to the rate hike with profit taking activities in the secondary market. Sell side activities were witnessed across the Nigerian Treasury bill tenors as investors began to seek higher returns on naira assets on the back of high interest, and an inflation rate environment.  The average yield across all instruments expanded by 45 basis points to 25.1%, Cordros Capital Limited said in its market update. Traders also noted that across the market segments, the average yield increased by 34 basis…