AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Zenpay Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc, has signed an Agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat for the development and deployment of the SMARTAfCFTA Portal to facilitate trade within the African continent.

L-R: Chairman of Zenpay Limited, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu and the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, during the signing of an agreement for the development and deployment of the SMARTAfCFTA Portal to facilitate trade within the African continent, at Zenith Bank Headquarters, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday.

The agreement which was signed by the Chairman of Zenpay Limited, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu and the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, at Zenith Bank Headquarters, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, May 3, 2024 comes as a follow-up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was previously signed by both parties during the 8th Annual Edition of Zenith Bank’s International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export which was held on Wednesday, August 8, 2023.

During the agreement signing, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Chairman of Zenpay Limited, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat, highlighting its significance given the current understanding of trade flows in Africa. Dr. Onyeagwu noted, “In Africa, intra-African trade constitutes only about 20% of total trade, with the rest going overseas, despite Africans making up 18% of the world population but contributing less than 5% to global GDP. By trading within Africa, we anticipate building prosperity across the continent.”

He further stated, “This initiative is not driven by profit but by the need to support the African Continental Free Trade Area.

It aims to create a unified African market, enhancing economic integration and standardising customs and practices. As we advance this agenda, we expect tosee significant growth and improvement in intra-Africa trade.”

Also speaking during the agreement signing, His Excellency, Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, shared his delight over the partnership with Zenpay Limited in developing SMARTAfCFTA.

He appreciated Jim Ovia, CFR, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, for his commitment to the project. According to him, “Four years ago, we discussed and envisioned SMARTAfCFTA as a digital platform to empower SMEs and young entrepreneurs in Africa, facilitating their inclusion in trade and boosting intra-African trade.

This platform will serve as a repository for crucial trade data, offering insights on rules of origin and market intelligence, thus playing a pivotal role in implementing the AfCFTA agreement. Today is a testament that working together with our African partners in this case, Zenith bank, shows that their commitment goes beyond their progit margins to their stakeholders, but are motivated by our shared duty towards the Continent.”

Speaking about the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) alongside the SMARTAfCFTA portal, H.E. Mene described PAPSS as “Africa’s payment highway.” He clarified that, unlike PAPSS, SMARTAfCFTA is not a payment platform itself but will be interoperable with PAPSS, allowing functionalities that facilitate easy payments.

He emphasised that these platforms complement each other; they are not in competition. “We promote and encourage only one payment platform—PAPSS. Our goal is to integrate the digital ecosystem we are developing into PAPSS.

We are committed to fostering innovation within this framework, ensuring it supports a seamless continental payment system without creating competition among platforms.”

SMARTAfCFTA is a digital platform designed to facilitate international trade by providing the necessary information and tools to the African private and public sectors.

The Portal aims to streamline and unlock vast opportunities for trade across the African continent, and has the capacity to provide information like trade indicators, market trends, custom tariffs, trade agreements, Rules of Origin, market access requirements of relevant jurisdictions, export potentials, export diversification indicators and contact details of business partners in target markets and other trade-related information about Africa.

About ZENPAY Ltd 
Zenpay Ltd is a private limited liability company duly incorporated under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a wholly owned subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc. The company. It is a one-stop revolutionary financial technology (Fintech) company responsible for digital innovation and payments.

About the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) 
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and entered into force on 30 May 2019. It is a high ambition trade agreement, which aims to bring together all 55 Member States of the African Union, covering a market of more than 1.3 billion people, with a comprehensive scope that includes critical areas of Africa’s economy, such as digital trade and investment protection, amongst other areas. By eliminating barriers to trade in Africa, the objective of the AfCFTA is to significantly boost intra-Africa trade, particularly trade in value-added production and trade across all services sectors of Africa’s economy, at a potential of 52.3 percent. 

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the first quarter ended 31st March 2024, with an impressive triple-digit growth of 189% in Gross Earnings, from ₦270 billion reported in Q1 2023 to ₦781 billion in Q1 2024.

This is despite the challenging operating environment and tightening monetary policy stance.

From the unaudited statement of account submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Friday, 3rd May 2024, this impressive growth in the topline also enhanced the bottom line, as profit before tax (PBT) rose to ₦320 billion in Q1 2024, representing an increase of 270% from the ₦87 billion reported in Q1 2023. Profit after tax (PAT) equally grew significantly by 291% from the ₦66 billion reported in Q1 2023 to ₦258 billion in the current period.

Interest and non-interest income contributed significantly to the growth in gross earnings. Interest income grew by 155% from the ₦192 billion reported in the quarter ended March 2023 to ₦489 billion in the period to 31 March 2024.

The growth in interest income is due to the repricing of risk assets, owing to the increase in the central bank’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which currently stands at 24.75%.

The growth in net interest income is primarily due to the increase in fees and commissions as well as trading grains.

The Group reported an impairment charge of ₦56 billion for Q1 2024, up from ₦8 billion recorded in Q1 2023. This is attributable to significant growth in risk assets, primarily driven by the revaluation of its USD loans, which necessitated additional impairment on the bank’s foreign currency-denominated loans.

The cost of funds grew by 48% from 2.7% in Q1 2023 to 4% in Q1 2024 due to the high-interest rate environment, while interest expense increased by 157% from ₦71 billion reported in Q1 2023 to ₦182 billion in the period to March 2024.

Notwithstanding the year-on-year (YoY) increase in interest expense, net interest margin (NIM) grew by 20% from 6.9% in the 3 months ended March 2023 to 8.3% in the current period ending 31 March 2024.

Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) increased year-on-year (YoY) by 114% and 119%, respectively, due to improved profitability.

Gross loans, which are largely funded by customer deposits, grew by 30% from ₦7.1 trillion in December 2023 to ₦9.2 trillion in March 2024.

Customer deposits also grew by 11% from ₦15.2 trillion in December 2023 to ₦16.8 trillion in March 2024, underpinning continued customer confidence in the Zenith brand. Total assets increased by 19% to ₦24 trillion within the same period.

The Group has consistently maintained all prudential ratios well above the minimum regulatory requirement. At the end of Q1 2024, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Liquidity Ratio stood at 20% and 67%, respectively, demonstrating the Group’s ability to maintain a strong and liquid balance sheet.

The Group is making progress on the planned capital raise to support future growth and is very optimistic about meeting the new minimum capital requirements in line with the CBN’s recapitalisation directive.

As the Group accelerates migration to its new technology architecture and also transitions into a holding company, it remains poised to maximise value for all stakeholders.

AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM

SPONSORED BY: H&H

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO or the Group) has released its Unaudited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the period ended March 31, 2024, to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The Group reported profit before tax of ₦509.3billion, representing an increase of 587.5% over ₦74.1billion recorded in the corresponding period ended March 2023. The Group’s loan book (net) increased by 21.9% from ₦2.48trillion recorded as at December 2023 to ₦3.02trillion in March 2024, while deposit liabilities increased by 26.0% from ₦7.55trillion in December 2023 to ₦9.51trillion in March 2024.

The Group’s balance sheet remained well structured, diversified, and resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at ₦13.0trillion and ₦2.0trillion, respectively. Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 24.9%, while asset quality was sustained as IFRS 9 stage 3 loans improved to 3.1% in March 2024 from 4.2% December 2023 and cost of risk (COR) closed at 0.4% from 4.5% in December 2023.

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “Our first quarter results reflect the unfolding value of what we have created in all our business verticals through the Holding Company Structure – from Banking and Payments to Funds Management and Pension, we are positioned to compete effectively on all fronts and fulfil all our customers’ needs under a unified, thriving financial ecosystem. Despite the challenging operating environment, we delivered a solid performance, recording significant growth across all financial and non-financial metrics, and we remain on track to meeting our full year guidance.”

Mr. Agbaje further said: “Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on strengthening our relationships with our loyal customers, supporting not just individuals and businesses but also our communities through our well-attested free business platforms as well as innovative products and services. We are confident in our credentials to lead the future of financial services in Africa and will not relent in our commitment to excellence whilst delivering long-term value to all stakeholders.”

Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian financial services industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., pre-tax return on equity (ROAE) of 117.0%, pre-tax return on assets (ROAA) of 18.0%, full impact capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 24.9% and cost-to-income ratio (CIR) of 16.3%.

GTCO is a leading financial services group with banking operations in Nigeria, West Africa, East Africa, and the United Kingdom alongside non-banking verticals in HabariPay, Guaranty Trust Fund Managers, and Guaranty Trust Pension Managers. Its leadership in the banking industry and efforts at empowering people and communities has earned it many prestigious awards over the years. Recently, Guaranty Trust Bank was recognized as Nigeria’s Best Bank and Best Bank in CSR at the 2023 Euromoney Awards for Excellence, Best Banking Group in Nigeria by World Finance, and Best Bank in Nigeria by Global Finance. GTCO’s Guaranty Trust Bank is featured in the Top 1000 Banks in the World and Top 100 Banks in Africa rankings by The Banker.