The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has granted approval to Mortgage Refinancing Companies (MRC), to re-finance non-member banks.

This is contained in a circular referenced FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/07/056 and signed by Ibrahim Tukur, the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, CBN.

The circular improved on the earlier provisions contained in section 7.3.1.5 which states that “A mortgage refinance company (MRC) shall not, without the prior approval of the CBN, extend total outstanding credit to any single borrower, which is equal to or more than twenty times the value of the borrower’s shares with the MRC or 25 percent of its shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses.”

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What this means

Based on the provisions contained in the latest circular, MRCs are now free and legally permitted to refinance the qualifying mortgages of banks and all other non-members ( that do not hold equity), subject to meeting all other relevant requirements specified in the framework.

In a nutshell, the restriction on non-member mortgage lenders from refinancing their mortgages with MRCs has been removed.

Why this matters

Prior to the provisions contained in the latest circular, CBN had expressed fears that provisions of section 7.3.1.5 negatively impacts the mortgages sub-sector, as it constrains the MRCS from refinancing the mortgages of non-shareholder banks. Therefore, the new order will help to remove the restrictions already highlighted.

In lieu of this, the latest circular stated that the provision of section 7.3.1 5 is hereby revised to “the MRC shall not, without prior approval of the CBN, extend total outstanding credit to any single borrower, which is equal to or more than 25 percent of its shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses,” the circular reads.

Nascon Allied Industries Plc recorded a boost from an increase in the sale of goods revenue-generating units, as total revenues increased slightly. The company reported revenues of N21.87 billion in 2020 (9months) – 4.01% increase compared to N21.03 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

What you should know

Key highlights from 2020 (9months) results

• Revenues increased by 4.01% from N21.03 billion to N21.87 billion YoY.
• Revenues from sale of edible, refined, bulk grade salt; seasoning and vegetable oil, increased to N21.87 billion, +22.53% YoY.
• Other income increased to N12.81 million, +27.43% YoY.
• No revenue was recorded for freight income on the deliveries of salt and seasoning income-generating unit.
• Gross profit increased to N8.96 billion, +74.56% YoY.
• Operating profit increased to N3.64 billion +18.60% YoY.
• Pre-tax profits increased to N3.47 billion, +16.63% YoY.
• Post-tax profits increased to N2.29 billion, +13.27% YoY.
• Earnings Per Share increased to 115 kobo, +12.75% YoY
• Total assets increased to N44.36 billion, +45.79% YoY.
• Total liabilities increased to N32.04 billion, +67.21% YoY.
• Total equity increased to N12.32 billion, +9.35% YoY.

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Bottomline

Nascon Allied Industries Plc recorded a boost from increase in sale of goods revenue-generating unit, but no revenue was recorded for its freight income on the deliveries of salt and seasoning revenue generating-unit.

Though companies have generally recorded decreased revenues in the last three quarters, mostly due to COVID-19; Nascon Allied Industries Plc was able to increase its total revenues and pre-tax profits in the period under consideration.

Instagram disclosed that it would remove the “Recent” tab from its hashtag pages for people in the United States of America.

The social networking and video sharing service stated this on its official Twitter handle. It said it is “doing this to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election.”

Starting today, for people in the U.S. we will temporarily remove the “Recent” tab from hashtag pages. We’re doing this to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election.

— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 29, 2020

What you should know

Nairametrics had reported on Instagram’s apology for its algorithm malfunction that led to the flagging of #EndSARS posts as fake.

Instagram has also taken the following measures to ensure a successful November election.

• The registration of 4.4 million votes this year through its flagship platform – Instagram and Messenger.
• Serving as a means of information and tool to people in the US on the electoral process
• The ban of any content that can thwart the success of the election.

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Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, said he was perturbed about the high risks for civil unrest in the US due to the upcoming presidential election.

“I’m worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or weeks to be finalized, there is a risk of civil unrest across the country.”

Furthermore, he disclosed on a call while discussing Facebook’s Q3 earnings, that “given this, companies like ours need to go well beyond what we’ve done before.”

Why this matters

The aim of the short-term decision is to decrease the spread of misinformation in the forthcoming US election.