Business News
Access Bank, Union Bank leverage low yield bond rates
Access Bank, Union Bank leverage low yield bond rates
Africa’s largest bank by customer base, Access Bank Plc and Union Bank Plc have each completed issuance of N30 billion bond to position themselves to exploit the current decline in debt market yields.
Terms of the bond issuance: Access Bank disclosed on Friday that its Tier 2 bond had been offered at 15.5% with 2026 fixed as its maturity date. The Union Bank bond, a tranche of its N100 billion debt issuance programme, was issued at 16.2% with a ten-year tenor.
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Interestingly, no mention was made by both lenders regarding the purpose of the capital-raising exercise.
The back story: Nigeria’s apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had in 2017 launched a series of interventionist policies aimed at frustrating treasury bills sales in the open market as a measure aimed at the twin benefits of reducing inflation and shoring up the Naira.
The idea was to keep yields on debt market instruments at a low ebb while prodding banks to grant credit to businesses and individual borrowers as a way of lifting the economy out recession. That year, the Federal Government adopted the aggressive strategy of redeeming part of its treasury bills to slash borrowing cost drastically.
Taking the move further, the CBN sustained a firm grip on money market activities by constraining liquidity in order to keep the inflation rate low. The step has paid off significantly as it has succeeded in achieving foreign participation in the bonds market so as to strengthen the Naira.
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Why this matters: Access Bank and Union Bank, like other commercial banks, may look the way of bonds as a means of meeting their pressing financial obligations.
This is particularly favourable at this time given the low yield rates on bonds, which enables them to borrow cheaply.
Interestingly, the maturity dates of the bonds are reasonably long, meaning such banks have enough time to pay off the debt in the future.
Bond yields have plummeted from 18% since the CBN intervened in 2017. Yields on treasury bills with a one-year tenor were last auctioned for as low as 11%.
Business News
Job listings spike up by 183% in April –Jobberman
Jobberman released figures showing a 183% increase in job listings on its platform in April 2020, thanks to its #UnityInAdversity campaign.
Notable job placement website, Jobberman, has released figures showing that there was a 183% increase in job listings on its platform in the month of April 2020.
This increase, according to Jobberman, is a result of the #UnityInAdversity campaign which allowed companies to post job listings and access Jobberman’s database of over 2.2 million professionals across Nigeria for free, rather than paying the usual fees. This was the company’s way of showing support to businesses and individuals, amid the economic challenges which resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the release from Jobberman, this campaign came at a cost to the company since it was trading off its revenue by offering for free, the same services which formed its major source of income.
“At the beginning of March, Jobberman Nigeria saw a 70 percent decrease in job listings due to the reduced economic activity caused by the enforced lockdown and many companies shutting down recruitment budgets to cut costs. Jobseeker sign-ups also decreased by 17 percent. Jobberman took the bold step to put employers’ and job seekers’ needs first” the statement read.
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The campaign, which is billed to run till June 30, has paid off greatly as data for April’s job listings alone was more than that of the entire Q1 2020 period. See a breakdown of the job listings below:
- Almost a fifth of the positions (18.79%) were listed in the tech sector
- Banking, finance, and insurance accounted for 9.27%
- Education and training had 6.78 percent
- IT & Software positions accounted for 11.69%
- Sales had 13.32%.
Note that with the increase in job listings, job seeker sign-ups also increased by 39% in April alone.
Speaking about the campaign, the CEO of Jobberman Nigeria, Hilda Kragha said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made the process of connecting talent to opportunities more complicated and we are fully aware of the strain businesses and individuals in Nigeria are facing. We plan to be here for the next 10 years so making this small sacrifice to help our users navigate these difficult times is something that we think is definitely worth doing”.
Kragha also noted that the campaign has encouraged healthy competition as candidates strive to show themselves qualified for the position.
“We have found that soft skills such as emotional intelligence, business etiquette, time management, which are often overlooked and underestimated in Nigeria, can make a big difference. We know the power of soft skills and we are committed to empowering individuals with the training and soft skills they need to succeed in the workplace” she explained further.
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Sequel to this, the company also launched a free soft skills training programme to help job seekers (between age 18 and 30 years) acquire the needed soft skills and better their chances of gaining employment.
Economy & Politics
Gold prices rise, as President Trump decides on China today
Gold prices jumped on Friday as China and America’s drift deepened over further moves by China to impose security laws on Hong Kong
Gold prices jumped on Friday as China and America’s drift deepened over further moves by China to impose security laws on Hong Kong, lifting the allure of safe havens amid market uncertainties.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser cautioned the Chinese lately that Hong Kong, which has enjoyed special privileges, may now be treated like China when it comes to financial matters and trade.
Trump, who had earlier vowed a tough action on China, will hold a news conference today to announce what measures his administration will take.
Spot gold gained about 0.1% at $1,719.63 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,734.60.
The friendship between the Americans and Chinese had weakened, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Trump and President Jinping of China have accused each other as a result of issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
(READ MORE: Gold records 3-week high, as investors rush to safe haven)
Why do Investors buy Gold? Global Investors most often buy the safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty and use it to hedge against cash (inflationary macros).
“The possible U.S. response could range from a tearing up of the Phase 1 trade deal and fresh tariffs on China, to milder travel or financial sanctions on Chinese officials,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at Australian wealth manager AMP to Reuters News.
“It is seen as a major threat to the rally we’ve had and the recovery,” “If it’s at the relatively mild end, then I don’t think it would derail the recovery bull market, but if it’s at the more extreme end with tariffs and harsh treatment of Hong Kong, then I think it gets more problematic,” Oliver added.
Business News
AfDB board denies asking Adesina to step down, as Obasanjo says the bank risks being hijacked
“The Bureau of the board of governors informs the public that it has not taken any decision. Everyone must allow the Bureau to do its work and allow due process to reign.”
The Bureau of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has denied media reports making the rounds that AfDB’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, has been asked to step down pending the completion of the probe and determination of allegations against him.
The bank’s top governing board members said that they have not asked Adesina to step down from his position as president, even as the board continues to review the fallout of complaints by some whistleblower. The statement from the Chairman of the bank’s board of governors, Niale Kaba, said:
“The Bureau of the board of governors informs the public that it has not taken any decision. Everyone must allow the Bureau to do its work and allow due process to reign. All governors will be carried along in resolving the issue.’’
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Kaba also stressed that there was no governance crisis at AfDB as was being speculated in certain quarters. He confirmed that the Bureau of the Board of Governors of AfDB met on Tuesday, May 26, after the request by the U.S Secretary calling for an independent probe. The essence of the meeting was to take a closer look at the allegations by the whistleblowers against Akinwumi Adesina, said allegations which had already been investigated by the ethics committee of the bank.
Kaba further disclosed that even though no decision has been taken yet, the bureau assures that it is treating the case with the utmost seriousness that it deserves.
(READ MORE: AfDB bows to pressure from U.S, orders an independent probe of Akinwumi Adesina)
Adesina, who maintains his innocence of those allegations, had stated that a fair, transparent, and just process will vindicate him.
In a related development, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo had thrown his weight behind Adesina and kicked against the demand by the United States of America for a fresh, independent probe of the AfDB President who had earlier been cleared by the ethics committee of the bank.
In his letter to 12 former African Presidents, Obasanjo said that Africa must stand up and not allow its institutions to be unduly controlled by non-African countries.
Obasanjo said that the bank has witnessed tremendous growth under Adesina’s leadership and has doubled its capital base since he took over.
