Author: Marketforces Africa

Excess Liquidity in Banking System Keeps Rates in Check Interbank rates close steady due to excess liquidity in the banking system. The size of funds available for money market operations remains hefty, and banks are leveraging it, pumping funds into the standing deposit facility of the Central Bank. The absence of funding pressure kept short-term benchmark interest rates movement in check, lowering banks’ borrowing from the CBN standing lending facility at a higher rate. At the beginning of the week, the interbank market remained liquid as a ₦259.7 billion FGN bond coupon bolstered the liquidity balance in the financial system,…

CBN Issues Update on Document Requirement for PAPSS Transactions The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a significant review of the documentation requirements for transactions conducted through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in Nigeria. According to a statement by Hakama Sidi-Ali, CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, the initiative was part of CBN’s ongoing commitment to foster seamless intra-African trade and financial inclusion. Sidi-Ali said that it would also boost operational efficiency for Nigerians engaging in cross-border payments within Africa. She said that the initiative was inaugurated by Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union and the…

GTCO, NB Plc Drive Intraday Gain in Equities Market Hefty market-valued stocks, including GTCO and Nigerian Breweries, among others, are driving the intraday rally in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Monday. The market index has popped higher by 38 basis points, signaling a positive close in the stock market in the absence of sell-side actors taking over trading activities. GTCO experienced increased demand from offshore investors last week, and this boosted the orange-branded banking and financial services stocks. International Breweries Plc also rallied as investors anticipate a possible return to profitability in the first quarter of…

Transcorp Hotels Profit Rises to N5.046bn in Q1 Transcorp Hotels Plc grew profit by about 0.6% year on year to N5.046 billion in the first quarter of 2025, its unaudited financial statement submitted on the Nigerian Exchange revealed. Details from the results showed that profit rose minisculely by about 0.6% in 12 months to close at N5.046 billion compared with N5.016 billion in the comparable period in Q1-2024. The hospitality company reported a spike in revenue, up by 52.2% year on year from N13.80 billion in Q1-2024 to N21.005 billion at the end of Q1-2025. The top line was boosted…

Fitch Upgrades Kaduna, Lagos, Kogi, Oyo Credit Ratings Fitch Ratings has upgraded Kaduna, Lagos, Kogi, and Oyo states long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) or credit ratings to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘ with a stable outlook. In a rating note, Fitch said the upgrade of Kaduna, Kogi, Lagos, and Oyo follows the upgrade of Nigeria to ‘B.’.   “We consider the federal government’s role to be predominant in intergovernmental relations, as it controls the equalisation mechanism enacted through a system of transfers to states”. Fitch’s revised rating case on these four states includes updated macro data. They envisage steeper…

Zenith Bank Up Near N2trn Ahead of Earnings, Dividend Zenith Bank Plc inched near N2 trillion mark on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in the latest rally that nudged its market valuation up by 5.7%—ahead of the annual general meeting of shareholders. The market anticipates Zenith Bank will release its first quarter of financial year 2025 earnings scorecard in line with regulatory demand, as the group is set to pay dividends in the new week. According to data from the Nigerian market, Zenith Bank’s share price climbed to N46.50 on Friday after 22.935 million units valued at N1.045 billion exchanged hands,…

GTCO Rises to N2.15trn as Foreign Investors Take Positions The most valuable financial services company, Guaranty Trust Holdings Company (GTCO) Plc, saw its market value surge by about 7% in the equities market after the stock price was marked down for its N7.30 dividend payment. The increase in the financial services holdings company was majorly propelled by significant offshore activity in the stock market with a focus on the orange-branded financial services provider. Foreign investors scrambling for banking stocks increased their positions in GTCO ahead of the group’s first quarter of 2025 earnings release.   Reflecting investors’ positive mood, the…

UBA Drops Hint on N500 Billion Recapitalisation UBA Plc has dropped a fresh hint about the group recapitalization program after its recently completed hybrid offers in the Nigerian capital market ahead of the regulator’s 2026 deadline. Tony Elumelu, UBA Group Chairman, at the weekend assured stakeholders that the bank will meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N500 billion minimum capital requirement for international commercial banks by Q3 2025, ahead of the deadline. The CBN had increased the capital base for commercial banks with international authorisation to N500 billion and for national banks to N200 billion. This sweeping financial reform,…

Cadbury Nigeria Soars by 21% in Anticipation of Q1 Earnings Fast-moving consumer goods company Cadbury Nigeria Plc’s market value soared by about 21% in the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) ahead of its first quarter of 2025 earnings release. The consumer goods company’s share price rose from N22 at the beginning of the week to close at N26.6 on Friday after more than 1.342 million units valued at N35.302 million exchanged hands in the local bourse. This pushed the consumer goods producer market value to N60.655 billion, still trading at a significant discount to  its 52-week high in…

Interest Rates on Nigerian OMO Bills Rise by 3.28% As part of efforts to keep the naira assets attractive, spot rates on Nigerian OMO bills rose by more than 3% across standard tenors, details from a primary market auction (PMA) conducted by the Central Bank (CBN) showed. At the OMO auction on Friday, local banks and foreign portfolio investors’ appetite for the naira assets surged sharply, reflecting an untamed appetite for elevated yields. The average yield on OMO bills fell by 109 bps to 27.1% in the secondary market due to bargain hunting on the naira assets. The CBN conducted…