Financial Services
Young female professionals in insurance are constrained by inadequate opportunities – Dive In
Young female professionals in the insurance sector are constrained by inadequate opportunities, a survey has revealed.
A survey has revealed that despite the ambition to attain a top-level career, young female professionals in the insurance sector are constrained by inadequate opportunities relative to gender bias and unequal pay.
The survey, which was conducted by Dive In team, also found that female professionals in the sector face limitations on their rise to leadership amid other challenges.
The survey, which was disclosed at the Dive In Nigeria Festival webinar on Thursday, further highlighted that females are willing and ready to take up more challenging roles within the sector and have to resort to professional bodies for support and guidance in their careers.
At the webinar themed ‘Promoting Inclusion & Diversify in the Nigerian Insurance Industry for a Quantum Leap, which was attended by Nairametrics, the immediate past Managing Director, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Funmi Omo, one of the top 100 women CEOs in Africa, explained that equal opportunities, equal pay, female empowerment, and commitment from leadership in firms are crucial to the development of the sector in Nigeria.
She said, “Women should be seen as the backbone of any economy, and as such, they need to be given more attention. From the insurance standpoint, we need to have a more structural and deliberate approach to thrive. Diversity is very good, it brings about balance. Leaders have to step up to make the insurance sector more welcoming and structured. They need to be flexible and avoid being rigid and also take advantage of the newness and freshness of the younger generation. Do not micromanage them, let them explore, allow them to breathe, and make their own mistakes so they can see a future in the industry.”
(READ MORE: First Bank empowers women through online community)
Some leading females in the industry also lent their voice to the younger female professionals in insurance & finance in a campaign titled “Letters to my younger self.”
They shared lessons that would help the younger generation develop a mindset and character required for success within the sector.
Other speakers included Adetola Adegbayi, Executive Director, General Insurance Business Division, Leadway Assurance Company Ltd, a Legal Practitioner with extensive experience in Legal Research, Corporate Legal Practice, Insurance, and Financial Services; Nike Anani, Co-Founder African Family Firms, a firm dedicated to assisting second-generation family members (“NextGens”) in identifying and implementing new opportunities, shortening the journey from identification to impact.
On steps being taken to promote diversity and inclusion in hiring strategies, MD, African Reinsurance Corporation, Dr. Corneille Karekezi said, “We are aware that women are not well represented in the workplace and as such at Africa Re Group, we make special provision for women inclusion in nomination for senior roles, provision for tribal diversity and inclusion to drive equality within the corporation.”
He stressed that the mandate for them at his firm is, integrating Africa, and to achieve this, it is important that diversity and inclusion are promoted.
“Communications and the intention to achieve equality helps us ensure diversity and inclusion,” he added.
About Dive In
Dive In is a global movement in the insurance sector to support the development of inclusive workplace cultures. Its mission is to enable people to achieve their potential by raising awareness of the business case and promoting positive action for diversity in all its forms.
Business
#EndSARS: We were not hacked – CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria has dismissed rumours that its website was hacked by hacker group, Anonymous.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked rumours that its website was hacked. This was disclosed via its official Twitter handle in the early hours of today.
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The apex bank assured the Nigerian public that there was no cause for alarm and it would do everything within its statutory power to protect its proprietary data from being breached.
READ: #EndSARS: National Human Rights Commission sets up independent investigative panel
CBN Website Not Hacked pic.twitter.com/nZFdabmARo
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) October 16, 2020
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The press release concluded by advising the Nigerian public to ignore such false claims, designed at undermining the credibility of the CBN.
Backstory
Nigerians were shocked yesterday when the website of the CBN was temporarily off the grid, leaving many to suspect that it may have been hacked. Recall that Anonymous, an international hackers group, had earlier claimed via its Twitter handle, that it breached some Nigerian government websites.
READ: CBN invests over N120 billion on 320,000 farmers across CTG within four years
The act is said to be in support of the ongoing #EndSARS protests that have taken over many cities in Nigeria, following calls for the disbandment of the notorious police unit – FSARS.
Financial Services
Stanbic IBTC retains Fitch’s AAA Rating
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC were rated high based on the potential support from their parent company, Standard Bank Group.
Globally renowned credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has reaffirmed that Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and its subsidiary, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, have retained their National Long-Term’ AAA (nga)’ and National Short-Term’ F1+(nga)’ ratings.
Fitch Ratings is a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary and research for global markets. The National Long-Term’ AAA (nga)’ and National Short-Term’ F1+(nga)’ Ratings are the highest possible ratings on Fitch’s rating scale.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC were rated high based on the potential support from their parent company, Standard Bank Group, which is based in South Africa.
According to Fitch Ratings, both organisations retained their ratings as a result of the vital role they play in Standard Bank Group’s primary operations in West Africa as well as its size and high operational integration.
“The National Long-Term Ratings on Stanbic IBTC Bank’s N30 billion senior unsecured notes and the National Long- and Short-Term Ratings on the N150 billion structured note programme for senior unsecured debt are in line with the Bank’s issuer ratings,” Fitch says.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC is a subsidiary of the Standard Bank Group. Its principal operating entity is Stanbic IBTC Bank, a mid-tier commercial bank, which represented 96 per cent of the holding company’s consolidated assets at the end of 2019.
Both entities are highly integrated with Standard Bank Group’s risk-management framework with access to Standard Bank Group’s competitive advantages relative to peers. This also includes connectivity to its network and the ability to serve large domestic and multinational companies.
The ‘AAA (nga)’ is given to issuers with the lowest expectation of default risk when compared with their competitors. The National Short-Term Rating of ‘F1+(nga)’ is assigned to issuers that have the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments in comparison to other issuers in Nigeria
Cryptocurrency
Crypto: Popular Hedge Fund, Grayscale record best quarter ever
Grayscale Investments has had impressive growth after registering its third consecutive record-breaking quarter.
Popular American based hedge fund, Grayscale Investments, has had impressive growth after registering its third consecutive record-breaking quarter with more than a billion inflows recorded.
READ: How to buy and sell Bitcoins in Nigeria
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Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Investments product remained the most widely selected investment product. Grayscale Investments in its most recent report for Q3 2020 report, total investments into the digital asset managers fund in those three months alone accounted for more than a billion dollars. Adding Q1, Q2, which were also record-breaking at their respective time, the year-to-date inflows surged to $2.4 billion.
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Just for comparing our massive, the recent feat is, Grayscale had received $1.2 billion s2013 to 2019. This makes the year to date for 2020 inflows twice as much.
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What you must know; Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Among Fastest Growing Investment Products: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust experienced $719.3 million in 3Q20 inflows.
- The Trust has seen its assets under management (“AUM”) surge from $1.9 billion to $4.7 billion YTD.
- Grayscale Bitcoin Trust does not operate a redemption program and its shares do not trade on a national securities exchange.
- Trust is therefore not an ETP or ETF. Still, if the Trust were compared to global ETPs and ETFs with over $1B AUM at the start of the year, it would rank as the third-fastest growing product YTD with an AUM increase of approximately 147%.
READ: Nigeria’s diaspora remittance to hit $34 billion by 2023 – PwC
READ: The week that shook the world: the collapse of the Lehman Brothers and the effect it had on me
Backstory
Recall Nairametrics about five months ago, revealed how institutional investors and hedge funds around the world have been rushing to have a stake in crypto assets which all have been outperforming other financial assets in 2020.
A popular hedge fund based in New York –Grayscale Investments –caught the investment world by surprise by buying up Bitcoin (BTC) at a great rate in recent months.
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What you need to know about Hedge Funds; They are firms that offer alternative investments to a specific type of investors (high net worth individuals), in a bid to protect their investment portfolios from market uncertainty, while generating positive returns regardless of market sentiments.
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