In a message addressed to its customers, Fidelity Bank stated that they all have up to Friday, December 31, 2021, to transact with their old £20, and £50 notes, as they would no longer be acceptable going forward.

According to the financial institution, the development was pertinent as Bank of England, which produces the notes, is aiming to conclude its cash evacuation policy.

“The Bank of England has announced the withdrawal of paper £20 and £50 notes after September 30, 2022. A year’s notice has been provided to customers and the global banking community.

“In view of this, Fidelity Bank, alongside other Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria, has issued a deadline of December 31, 2021, for acceptance of the stated denominations from the public to enable proper conclusion of cash evacuation.

“Thus, we advise you to use or deposit your paper GBP notes into your Fidelity Bank domiciliary account by December 31, 2021, to avoid a loss in the value of your money,” Fidelity Bank stated as it alerted its customers.

This is why…

Unmask NG understands that the UK government’s apex bank is aiming at the proper conclusion of its cash evacuation policy, to reduce COVID-19 risks, and that of other related transmittable diseases.

Having conducted a research to understand if cash is still as relevant as it used to be prior to the pandemic, the Bank of England concluded on the following:

• Over the past decade, the fall in transactional use of cash in the UK has been accompanied by an increase in the value of notes in circulation. Covid has intensified this trend.
• Both shopping and payment behaviours have changed in response to the virus, with more online shopping and more contactless transactions.
• Although the bank’s research to understand better how the virus behaves on banknotes, indicates that the risk of transmission via banknotes is low.
• However, the barriers to alternative payment adoption may have been permanently broken by COVID-19.

The post Fidelity Bank, Others To Stop Accepting Old £20, £50 Notes (Here’s Why) appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

During a media parley attended by journalists in the state, Kaduna’s Legal Adviser and Board Secretary of the state’s tax administrator, Aisha Mohammed disclosed that the state government’s Internal Revenue Service locked the commercial bank’s branches after securing a court order to effect the move.

Amongst other things, the financial institution is accused of refusing to pay its outstanding tax returns for the last nine years.

According to Mohammed, the tax has accumulated to N43.3 million, a development that instigated the Kaduna State government to approach the court and obtain an order to stop the operation of the financial institution led by Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe.

This publication, however, understands that prior to closing the branches of Fidelity Bank in Kaduna, the state government was said to have issued tax assessment five times on the lender, but no response was received.

The post Tax Fraud: Fidelity Bank Branches Shutdown In Kaduna appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

The other financial institutions are –Zenith, Fidelity, FCMB, UBA, and Heritage banks.

While disclosing this during a recently-held interview, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said beneficiaries of the programme will only be paid only through their bank accounts using their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to avoid fraud and double payment.

Keyamo further revealed that the enlisted banks have successfully opened special accounts and captured the biometrics of successful applicants for the job.

“The clear directive of Mr. President to me was that to ensure a fraud-free process, we should ensure that there is a clear audit trail of all payments made to all beneficiaries and as such, we needed to engage selected banks who can share data with us and we needed to open special accountants for all participants in such a way that there will be an audit trail of all payments made through these selected banks,” he explained.

What you should know

The programme was established under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) by SWP, to identify and exploit employment opportunities that abound in the public works sector by organizing the skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled persons that are unemployed to carry out utility, environmental, infrastructural development and sanitation works.

Under the programme, artisans (beneficiaries), will do public works for three months for N20,000 per month.

The 774,000 jobs which were scheduled to take off on Sunday, November 1, 2020, after been shifted from Thursday, October 1, 2020, will now kick-off, will now kick-off on Tuesday, January 5, 2020.

Announcing the new date of the programme, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said: “We have taken a firm decision to begin on January 5, 2021, but I am going to make an official announcement after FEC on Wednesday. We had a few hiccups in December but we have taken a decision to begin January 5 which is a Tuesday.

“The programme will run from January to March 2021 which is a pure dry season. So, we are ready. All the obstacles have been removed.”

But here’s our sentiment…

If the SPW’s 774,000 jobs programme is the best way or option to tackle Nigeria’s alarming unemployment rate, then, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government’s ineptitude to address the country’s lingering economic challenges has again been brought to fore.

Recall that about 21,764,614 (21.7 million) Nigerians remain unemployed, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The post 774,000 Jobs: Access Bank, Others Enlisted For SPW appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

For his leadership role in the bank’s transformation process, Okonkwo won The Banking Sector CEO of the Decade at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI), which recently Awards held in Lagos.

While receiving the award on behalf of Okonkwo, the Bank’s Executive Director for Operations and Technology, Gbolahan Joshua commended the effort of the CEO, saying Okonkwo has contributed immensely to the development of the bank, hence, he merited the award.

“This comes as a crowning glory to the contributions of Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo to Fidelity Bank, the banking industry and the entire Nigerian economy. As you may be aware, he is retiring as our CEO, after the completion of contract tenure, by December 31, 2020.

“Okonkwo was honoured for “transforming Fidelity Bank into one of the fastest-growing and most trusted financial services brands in Nigeria,” he stated.

He however dedicated the award to stakeholders including, customers, shareholders, the board of directors, executive management, and staff of Fidelity Bank.

Joshua said, “He has asked me to dedicate this to all the stakeholders of the bank, including his family and mentors. According to him his modest achievements and contributions would not have been possible without their unalloyed support and help.”

With so much joy in the air, Fidelity Bank was also named the Commercial Bank of the Year.

Company’s performance

Under Okonkwo administration, the bank recorded a 236 percent growth in profit before tax from N9 billion to N30.4 billion in 2019; customer and savings deposit also grew from N806.3 billion to N1.35 trillion and from N83.3 billion to N312.1 billion respectively.

More so, the bank’s net loans and advances grew by 174 percent from N426.1 billion to N1.16 trillion; customer base increased by 121 percent from 2.4 million to 5.3 million, and digital banking penetration improved from 1.0 percent to 50.1 percent, accounting for 28.4 percent of total fee income.

Amongst other achievements, Okonkwo was able to rebrand projects that led to an increased youth appeal, revamp the bank’s management performance and implement digital transformation in improving digital retail strategy.

BAFI Awards, established by BusinessDay Newspapers to recognises and celebrate organizations, individuals, and teams that have achieved excellence in the delivery of financial services across the country.

The post Nnamdi Okonkwo Honoured For Transforming Fidelity Bank appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

Obi dished out the advice via his Twitter page, where he stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government needs to change the economy from a wasteful consumption-based to a productive economy, in order to exit the recent recession which will be the second in five years.

“For Nigeria to pull itself out of this economic recession, the 2nd in the last 5 years, there’s a compelling need to cut the pork out of the budget and expenditure at all levels of government and redirect the economy from a wasteful consumption-based one to a productive economy,” he stated.

Recall that on Saturday, November 21, 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that Nigeria had plunged into another recession, after her GDP was contracted by 3.62% in the third quarter of the year.

With this development, Nigeria experienced her second recession under Buhari, and the worst in almost four decades.

The last time Nigeria suffered a recession was in 2016, where global crude oil prices dropped, resulting in forex reserves also dropping.

Subsequently, the inability of past leaders to provide the enabling environment for a strong industrial sector, investment opportunities were few. This, in turn, caused a fall in the production of goods and services which is a major component of the GDP.

What you should know

The recession Nigeria plunged into didn’t come as a surprise, as the country’s economy was stalled for months due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Recall that when Nigerian confirmed her index case of COVID-19 in late February 2020, major sectors of the economy, including oil and aviation, were shut to businesses, a development that had a tolling effect on the country’s economy.

The post Economic Recession: Fidelity Bank’s Ex-Boss Advises Buhari appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

Following their arrest by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Okonkwo and the other arrested officials have regained their freedoms, but the commission is still investigating the matter.

Information reaching Unmask NG now has it that Okonkwo is trying to elude the jail-term associated to money-laundering crimes when convicted, as he’s presently pleading with the EFCC to pity him and consider him for convenient options.

How Okonkwo connived with former minister to carry out the fraud

Following the arrest of Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, who has since been on trial for multiple fraud and corruption cases, an investigation uncovered a fact that the Fidelity Bank boss helped Alison-Madueke in laundering a huge amount of money that was deployed for the 2015 general elections.

According to reliable information made available to Unmask NG, the former minister Okonkwo to oversee the amount of money designated for electoral bodies and individuals.

However, while the EFCC was investigating a N675.1 million received by some electoral officials in Rivers, Delta, and Akwa Ibom states, it later discovered that Okonkwo was majorly involved in the case.

Having been caught red-handed and charged on a 14-count charge of conspiracy and money-laundering, which is likely to attract serious jail-term, Okonkwo is now begging for settlement outside the court.

Unmask NG learnt that he had already approached a top person in the government to assist him plead for a ease and convenient sentence.

Should Fidelity Bank be worried?

It is an open secrete that fraud and money-laundering are challenges that have since been plaguing the banking sector on a global scale. In recent times, fraudulent activities have been on the rise, as bank employees like Okonkwo, align themselves to be part of the machinery carrying out money-laundering at the detriment of the financial institution they represents.

While Okonkwo’s conviction is important for deterrent sake, Unmask NG understands that the development may drag the reputation of Fidelity Bank into the mud.

The post Fidelity Bank CEO Enmeshed In N58.2 billion Money-Laundering Scandal appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.