The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has highlighted five strategies it will adopt to achieve insurance accessibility and penetration across the country.

The commission said these strategies were namely, safeguarding policyholders and improving confidence in the industry, strengthening the agency’s supervisory capabilities and organisational effectiveness, improving safety and soundness of the Nigerian insurance industry, and fostering innovation and sustainability of the Nigerian insurance industry.

NAICOM said these would enhance overall insurance accessibility and penetration in Nigeria.

Ayo Olusegun Omosehin, the Commissioner for Insurance, stated these while speaking   at the 2024 Insurance Meets Tech (IMT) organised by Modion Communications in Lagos.

Omosehin who was represented at the event by the Head, Lagos Control Office of NAICOM, Mr Julius Odidi spoke on the theme, “Revitalising the Insurance Industry to Risk-Manage Nigeria’s One-Trillion-Dollar Economic Aspiration.”

He said NAICOM played a vital role in fostering innovative business solutions that address pressing economic and social issues in Nigeria’s insurance sector, adding that the commitment extended to ensuring prompt settlement of legitimate claims, promoting market growth through innovation, and driving commercial value within the industry.

He said efforts must be made to address key fundamental issues plaguing the sector, which include among others low insurance penetration, lack of public trust, market fragmentation, regulatory reforms and digital transformation and adaptation.

He cited instance of the surge of COVID-19 in year 2020-2021 saying when the pandemic was threatening global safety and testing the abilities, resilience and preparedness of nations globally to deal with the unexpected outbreak, the it had highlighted the need for digitalisation.

The Bank of Industry has emphasised that Nigeria must enhance its production capacity to achieve a one trillion-dollar economy by 2026.

Isa Omagu, the Divisional Head of Services, BoI, stated this on Saturday at the 2024 annual conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria in Lagos with the theme, “Nigeria’s Journey Towards a $1 trillion Economy: Impact of Banks’ Re-capitalisation, Opportunities for Fintechs and Real Sector”.

He noted that the country’s economy relied heavily on fiscal and monetary policies, urging collaboration between both sides.

He also said that Nigeria’s current production levels were insufficient, warning against overreliance on imports if the country aims to achieve economic robustness.

“To reach a $1tn economy, we must focus on boosting production capacity,” Omagu said, calling for investment in agriculture, infrastructure, and services, which would reduce import dependence and ease forex pressure.

Also, Mr Bello Hassan, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, among other stakeholders, emphasised the need for banks and Fintech companies to collaborate and drive real sector growth.

He stated that the current recapitalisation initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria must be effectively implemented.

According to Hassan, this is necessary towards enhancing the resilience, solvency and capacity of Nigerian banks to absorb shocks and continue to support the economic development of the nation by efficiently performing their function as the fulcrum of financial intermediation.

He noted the role of strong and well-capitalised banks in supporting the current administration’s bold vision of growing Nigeria’s economy to a $1tn must be appreciated by the relevant players in the financial sector.

“The opportunities and potentials for growth of the real sector depend, among others, on the availability and affordability of financing the economy. To achieve the desired level of financing required by the real sector, the window offered by banks in partnership with fintechs must be adequately harnessed,” he said.

He, however, stressed the need for supervisors to understand the interconnection among the various financial services providers and how their policies and actions can affect the efficiency and optimality of the overall financial system.

Mr Oliver Alawuba, the Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa Plc, has said Nigeria’s journey to a $1tn economy is not just a vision but also a shared responsibility.

Alawuba, who was represented by the Executive Director of Finance and Risk Management, UBA, Ugo Nwaghodoh, called on the banking sector, fintech innovators, the real sector, and regulatory institutions to work hand-in-hand to drive this transformation.

“We are on the cusp of a new era, one that will be defined by innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth. Let us take this opportunity to collectively shape the future, ensuring that the Nigeria of tomorrow is one where prosperity is shared, opportunities abound, and our economy stands as a beacon of growth on the global stage,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria has the largest fintech market in Africa, populated by a rapidly growing number of start-ups offering solutions that address the inefficiencies of the traditional banking sector.

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2024, showing impressive performance across some key financial indicators.

The audited financials released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, showed that the bank recorded double-digit growth in its gross earnings and operating incomes.

At the end of the first two quarters of the year, and despite the tough global macroeconomic climate in Nigeria as well as the geo-political environment challenges across major countries in Africa where the bank has subsidiaries, UBA recorded a 39.6 per cent increase in its gross earnings, which rose from N981.77 billion in 2023 to N1.371 trillion in June 2024.

Interest income also increased by 134.3 per cent to N1.003 trillion up from N428.2 billion recorded in June last year, while total assets went up by 37.2 per cent from N20.6 trillion in December 2023 to close at N28.3 trillion. Customer deposits, also leapt by 33.7 per cent in the same period to close at N23.2 trillion up from N17.3 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.

The results filed showed that profit before tax(PBT) which stood at N403 billion in June 2023, closed the half year at N402 billion, while profit after tax(PAT)dropped slightly from N378 billion to N316 billion in the year under consideration.

However, the banks’ shareholders funds increased by 47 per cent from N2.03 trillion in December 2023, to N2.99 trillion.

In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc has declared an interim dividend of N2.00 per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders, representing 300% increase compared to the N0.50 declared in the similar period of 2023.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, while commenting on the results underscored the bank’s commitment to consistently deliver value to its shareholders.

He said, “UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals.”

Continuing, the GMD said, “The Group’s performance has been buoyed by consistent strong growth in all core and sustainable banking income lines.

“Our intermediation business showed strong growth with net interest income expanding by 143% YoY to N675billion”.

On the plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”

The Executive Director Finance & Risk, Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency, as reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalizing around the 50% range.

“Our cost optimization provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” he stated.

He disclosed that the Group will focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of our moderate risk appetite in alignment with our sustainability goals.

“The Group has made significant progress and is on course to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. that we operate in,” Nwaghodoh further explained.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-five million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.