E-Financial
Bank Asks Court to Wind Up Oil Firm over N1.6Bn Debt
Nova Merchant Bank Limited, has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to wind up Midwestern Oil and Gas Company Limited, for allegedly refusing to pay a N1.6 billion debt it owed.
The bank made this demand in its winding-up petition marked FHC/L/CP/2641/2023, brought under the provision of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020.
Apart from the suit, the bank also filed a motion on notice seeking leave of the court to “advertise the Winding-up Petition in the Federal Government Official Gazette, one national daily newspaper and other Newspaper circulating in Lagos State, where the registered office and principal place of business of the respondent is situated or in such other newspaper as the court may direct in compliance with the companies Winding-Up Rules 2001.”
The basis of the bank’s request is that the, “Respondent is insolvent and unable to pay its debt or meet its obligations.”
In an affidavit attached to the suit, the petitioner claimed that upon an application by Energy Link Infrastructure Limited, Nova Merchant Bank, by an offer letter dated July 26, 2021, granted a N3 billion credit facility to the company for a project that it is undertaking for OML 18 (owned and operated by Eroton E&P).
The bank averred that the securities for the facility are an Irrevocable Domiciliation of $2 million proceeds from exclusivity agreement with Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited and Corporate Guarantee of Eroton Exploration & Production Company Limited.
The petitioner further stated that respondent “failed to offset the loan repayment at its first maturity date (25th October 2021) and asked the bank for an extension, that the Petitioner extended the credit facility by another offer letter dated 5th January 2022.
“That the Respondent covenanted its Corporate Guarantee dated 5th January 2022 as security for the 5th January, 2022 credit facility granted to Energy Link, which covered the N3 billion.
“The January 5, 2022, loan facility was tenured for 180 days with 60 days of loan repayment and an interest rate of 18 percent per annum.
“Again, due to the inability of Energy Link Infrastructure to repay the loan and upon their application, the petitioner, by an offer letter dated 16th August 2023, restructured the credit facility.
“It explained further that yet again, Energy Link Infrastructure failed to pay its debt, following which the bank hired a solicitor whose fees being 15 percent of the outstanding sum as of the 28th of November, 2023, is N215, 041, 211.306.
“This brought the respondent’s total Indebtedness to N1,648,649,286.68 as of the time of the institution of the suit.
“Due to the respondent’s continuous and unremitting default or inability to honour the covenants in the corporate guarantee they issued in favour of Energy Link Infrastructure Limited, the petitioner caused a Statutory Demand Letter dated 28th November, 2023 served on the respondent.
“The petitioner has given the respondent a long period to liquidate its indebtedness, and the statutory three weeks demand notice has elapsed. Yet the Respondent has neglected and refused to honour its obligations due to its inability to pay its debt.
“The petitioner states that the respondent has become insolvent due to the Respondent’s inability to pay its debt in the sum of N1,648,649,286.68 owed to the petitioner.
“The failure of the respondent to pay the petitioner the sum owed has caused great financial hardship on the petitioner,” the bank stated
E-Financial
SEC Restates Commitment to Transparency in Fintech Regulation
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured stakeholders in the fintech space it is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the regulation of the space.
Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director general, SEC, said it has provided a level playing field to all applicants.
Agama, stated this during a meeting with Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program applicants on Monday.
The SEC DG stated that the commission understands the anxiety and the need to be regulated but added that they have to be very careful even in its desire to be inclusive.
He said, “The process of registration is a very technical process because registration is the hallmark of regulation. It goes beyond onboarding and registering, it requires monitoring, education, and surveillance and all of these are continuous. This journey is a new one that we have not gone through before. As we continue, we will find challenges, which we need to solve because every challenge is solvable.
“I am here to assuage fears being exhibited, we have provided a level playing field but as a government institution we must take things into context while doing this. The groups that were admitted into the ARIP and RI are beginning to see that we have started demanding for some information, operational updates and more regulatory requirements in line with the concept of a Regulation Incubation Programme or a Sandbox as some other institutions call it. In doing this, we are understudying what they are doing and the risk that they pose to investors and to themselves.
“We have not only done that, we have also issued new regulations to the public, which we call an exposure document. If you look at it, it is an upgraded version of our earlier regulations and the regulation making process demands that we get your views as stakeholders before it becomes a regulation.”
Agama stated that the inputs of stakeholders is important as regulators cannot claim to know everything adding that the rules would be amended to include all valid points to make it an all-inclusive document.
He further disclosed that the commission has increased the space to include more regulations to accommodate more individuals, more institutions and more functions because accommodation is the stance of the government regarding the space.
E-Financial
Ecobank Warns against Fraud during Yuletide
Ecobank Nigeria has cautioned customers to be vigilant against fraudsters during the Yuletide while promising uninterrupted access to banking services through its digital platforms throughout the holiday season.
In a statement on Monday, Adeola Ogunyemi, head, Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, emphasised that customers can continue their shopping and transactions smoothly via the bank’s various digital channels.
Ogunyemi highlighted the Bank’s long-standing commitment to digital transformation, which aims to improve customer experience and provide alternative access to banking services.
Ecobank Nigeria is an affiliate of the Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group.
The bank offers a comprehensive suite of financial services and solutions to consumer, commercial, corporate, and investment banking customers at over 240 branches and 35,000 Xpress Point agencies across Nigeria.
E-Financial
CBN Permits BDC Operators to Buy FX from NAFEM During Festive Season
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that eligible Bureau de Change (BDC) operators will have temporary access to the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to purchase $25,000 weekly. This arrangement, aimed at addressing seasonal foreign exchange (FX) demand, will be effective from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.
In a statement signed by T.G. Allu, CBN’s acting director of trade and exchange, the apex bank said BDC operators would buy FX from authorized dealers—banks licensed by the CBN—exclusively to meet retail market demand.
“To meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NAFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorized Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of $25,000,” the statement read.
BDC operators must fully fund their accounts before accessing the market at prevailing NAFEM rates, choosing only one authorized dealer for transactions under this arrangement. A maximum price spread of 1% is allowed for retail pricing by BDCs, and all transactions will be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.
The CBN reiterated that personal travel allowance (PTA) and business travel allowance (BTA) remain available through banks for legitimate travel needs. The bank emphasized that all FX transactions must be conducted at market-determined exchange rates.
“The CBN remains committed to a fully functional foreign exchange market and will continue to provide liquidity when necessary to manage price volatility,” the statement added.
Earlier in September, the CBN approved FX sales to eligible BDC operators at a rate of N1,590 per dollar to cater to demand for invisible transactions, reflecting ongoing efforts to stabilize the FX market.
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