BREAKING! Opay Begins Charging Of N50 Electronic Transaction Fee

OPay is set to apply a transfer fee of N50 for transactions exceeding N10,000.

OPay has introduced a new fee for electronic transfers into both personal and business accounts, in accordance with the regulations set forth by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Beginning September 9, 2024, there will be a one-time charge of N50 for transfers of N10,000 or more.

On Saturday, OPay communicated to its valued customers:

“Dear valued customers, please be informed that starting September 9, 2024, a one-time fee of N50 will be applied for electronic transfer of N10,000 and above paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service regulations.”

ZENITH BANK MAINTAINS LEADING POSITION IN PROFITABILITY AS PBT SOARS
TO N727 BILLION IN H1 2024 RESULT

Zenith Bank Plc has announced its audited results for the half-year ended 30 June 2024,
recording an impressive triple-digit growth of 117% in gross earnings from N967.3 billion
reported in H1 2023 to N2.1 trillion in H1 2024. This superior performance has been
achieved even as the Nigerian banking industry navigates a challenging macro
environment.

According to the bank's audited half-year financial results presented to the Nigerian
Exchange (NGX) on Friday, 30th August 2024, the triple-digit growth in the top line also
drove growth in the bottom line as the Group recorded a 108% Year on Year (YoY) increase
in profit before tax, from N350 billion in H1 2023 to N727 billion in H1 2024. Profit after tax
also grew by 98% from N292 billion to N578 billion in the same period. This led to growth in
earnings per share (EPS) by 98% from N9.29 in H1 2023 to N18.41 in the period under
review.

The growth in gross earnings was driven by an acceleration in both interest income and
non-interest income. Propelled by the growth of and by the effective pricing of risk assets,
interest income surpassed the N1 trillion mark, a half-year record, growing by 177% from
N415.4 billion in H1 2023 to N1.1 trillion in H1 2024, while non-interest income grew by 74%
from N515.7 billion to N899.3 billion.

The Group continued to strive for operational efficiency, resulting in only a marginal
increase in cost-to-income ratio Year on Year (YoY) from 38.5% to 39.4%. The heightened
risk environment has fuelled a growth in impairment levels, thus mildly elevating the cost of
risk from 8.8% to 9.7%. Cost of funds grew Year on Year (YoY) from 2.6% to 4.4% given
the high-interest rate environment. This also resulted in growth in interest expense from
N153.6 billion in H1 2023 to N434.4 billion in H1 2024. Despite this, net interest margin
grew by 49% from 5.9% in H1 2023 to 8.8% in H1 2024, underscoring the efficient repricing
of interest earning assets and interest accruing liabilities.

Total assets grew by 35% from N20.4 trillion in December 2023 to N27.6 trillion in June
2024, while customer deposits grew by 29% from N15.2 trillion in December 2023 to N19.6
trillion in June 2024. Gross loans also grew by 44% from N7.1 trillion in December 2023 to
N10.2 trillion in June 2024 aided by loans disbursements to customers and the translation
effect of foreign currency denominated loans. The Group’s consistent stringent risk
acceptance criteria helped ensure that the non-performing loan ratio continued to show only
modest growth, increasing from 4.4% in December 2023 to 4.5% in June 2024 despite the
challenging macroeconomic environment. Capital adequacy ratio improved from 21.7% in
December 2023 to 23% in June 2024, loan-to-deposit ratio grew by 11% from 46.5% to
51.7%, while liquidity ratio reduced from 71% to 59% in the current period. All prudential
ratios are still well above regulatory thresholds.

In maximizing value to its highly esteemed shareholders, the Group has declared an interim
dividend of N1.00 per share. This represents the highest half year dividend pay-out in its
history, and also the highest interim dividend in the Nigerian banking sector till date.
The Group’s strong brand equity and excellent service quality position it to mine new
business opportunities in strategic sectors of the economy, in existing geographies where it
has a presence, and in new geographies it is exploring. In furtherance of its expansion
plans, the Group has received regulatory approval for the establishment of a third-country
branch in Paris, France, which, when fully operational, will enhance its product offerings in
international markets.

The Group will continue to invest in enhancing its digital banking capabilities and is
expediting the completion of its technology infrastructure upgrade. Its track-record of
successful capital raises puts it on a solid footing to meet the new minimum capital
requirements for commercial banks with international authorisation, well ahead of the
deadline set by the CBN. The Group remains undoubtedly on track for a record year in its
financial performance and will continue to deliver maximum value to its shareholders, while
ensuring a strong corporate governance culture.

Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand
numerous awards including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1
Capital for the fifteenth consecutive year in the 2024 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking,
published by The Banker Magazine. The Bank was also awarded the Bank of the Year
(Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020 and 2022; and Most
Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2024 Banking Awards. Further
recognitions include Best Bank in Nigeria for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022
and in 2024 in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards, and Best Commercial Bank,
Nigeria for four consecutive years from 2021 to 2024 in the World Finance Banking Awards.
Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank,
Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for three consecutive years
from 2022 to 2024, and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four
consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.

The Bank’s commitment to excellence saw it being named the Most Valuable Banking
Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, and
Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 at the BusinessDay
Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. The Bank also received the
accolades of Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2023 Banking
Awards, Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in
the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards. Zenith Bank was named Bank of the
Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020, Bank of the Year 2021 by
Champion Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2022 by New Telegraph Newspaper, and Most
Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.

Fidelity Bank affirms commitment to data protection, strong corporate governance

Sahara Weekly Reports That The Leading financial institution in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc, has assured its customers of unwavering commitment to upholding the highest level of ethical standards in all dealings with customer data.

The assurance comes amid allegations by the Nigerian Data Protection Agency (NDPA) against the bank relating to data breach.

While reiterating its commitment to strong corporate governance, Fidelity Bank, in a statement signed by its Divisional Head, Brand & Communications, Dr Meksley Nwagboh, maintained that it has conducted its services with highest ethical standards by ensuring full compliance with extant laws on data protection.

Giving a breakdown of its dealings with the NDPC since it received a letter of the alleged data breach, the bank stated that “on April 30th, 2023, we received a notice of investigation from the Nigerian Data Protection Agency (NDPA), now the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC). The investigation was in respect of a complaint from [name has been withheld to protect the identity of the complainant] who claimed that [name withheld] details were used to open an account in the bank without [name withheld] consent.

“Based on this notice, we conducted an internal investigation into the circumstances around the claim and discovered as follows:

“An account opening request was received online in the name of [name withheld], and an email was sent to the email address attached to the request informing them about this.

“In compliance with our Data Protection policy, accounts created online without full documentation are not allowed to be operational and are closed after 30 days if the outstanding documents are not provided to authenticate the identity of the person seeking to open the account.

“In compliance with our data protection laws, the account was not allowed to be operational as the passport photograph and BVN were not provided.

“The account was immediately placed on “Post No Debit” status as the applicant was expected to complete the account opening process by providing the outstanding documents for verification within 30 days. This was not done, and the account was eventually closed.

“On May 2nd, 2023, we responded to the NDPC that the bank did not violate any law because there was no data breach and that the account opening process was not completed. On our part, we carried out due diligence by immediately blocking the account and subsequently closing the account when we did not receive the outstanding documents.

“At no point in the process was the account ever operational.

“On July 7th, 2023, we were invited for a Pre-Action meeting with NDPC. During the meeting, we restated our position as earlier communicated to them in our letter dated May 2nd.

“However, despite our explanation and evidence provided to support our claim, the agency informed us that they had reached a conclusion to impose a penalty on the bank.

“On 5th December of 2023, we got a letter from NDPC demanding we pay a ‘remedial fee’ of N250 million within 21 days.

“We immediately commenced another round of engagements with the Commission as we were convinced. We had not breached any extant law or regulation.

“While discussions were still ongoing with the NDPC, we received another letter on the 20th of August demanding that we now pay N555.8m naira.

“As a responsible financial organization with a history of strong corporate governance standards, we remain committed to the due process of the law, and we wish to assure all our customers of our unwavering commitment to upholding the highest level of ethical standards in all our dealings with customer data.

“Our commitment to strong corporate governance has earned us local and international recognition, including the prestigious CG+ award. This is the highest rank under the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), which evaluates listed companies against established best practices and standards.

“As a bank, we remain in discussions with the NDPC over an amicable resolution to this matter.”