Author: Julius Alagbe

Julius Alagbe is a senior financial journalist and Editor at MarketForces Africa with nearly two decades of experience in finance, accounting, and economics reporting.He is one of Nigeria's most prolific financial market reporters, covering capital markets, monetary policy, corporate earnings, banking, telecoms, and macroeconomic developments across Africa.Julius has built a strong footprint reporting on Nigeria's leading corporates and financial services sector, including coverage of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Central Bank of Nigeria monetary operations, MTN Nigeria, GTCO, and major investment banking transactions.He regularly monitors the CBN’s open market operations, interbank FX markets, and equity market movements, providing readers with real-time intelligence on Nigeria’s financial landscape.His reporting draws on direct access to institutional research from firms including Moody’s Ratings, CardinalStone Securities, Fitch, and other leading African investment houses.Julius brings analytical depth and editorial rigour to every story, making complex financial data accessible to professionals, investors, and policymakers across Africa.Julius Alagbe is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

GCR Upgrades Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Rating to AA GCR Ratings (GCR) has upgraded Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited’s (RMBN) national scale long-term issuer rating to AA(NG) from AA-(NG) and affirmed the short-term issuer rating of A1+(NG), with a stable outlook According to GCR, the ratings upgrade reflects sustained improvement in RMBN’s credit risk profile, underpinned by strong capitalisation, a good risk position, and an adequate funding and liquidity profile. The ratings also benefit from the demonstrated support from its parent, FirstRand Group Limited, one of the largest financial services groups in Africa, GCR added. RMBN’s competitive position is underpinned…

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AI Future Depends on Resilient Telecom Infrastructure – Adebayo The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo, says resilient telecommunications infrastructure is critical to unlocking the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Adebayo said this at the West Africa Telecoms Infrastructure Summit and Exhibition (WATISE) 4.0 held in Lagos. The theme of the summit was: “The Resilient AI Fabric: Trust, Integrity and Sustainability in Next Generation Network Infrastructure.” According to him, AI applications require enormous volumes of data, making ultra-reliable connectivity, low latency and high-capacity fibre networks indispensable. “The AI revolution is fundamentally dependent on communications…

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