E-Financial
CBN Asks Banks to Set Up Fraud Desks
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has in a circular directed Deposit Money Banks to maintain dedicated fraud desks in order to stem frauds within the banking industry.
The CBN also said that it had established the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) to proffer solutions to the issue of frauds arising from the increased adoption of electronic payments.
According to Mr. Dipo Fatokun, director, Banking and Payments Systems Department, CBN, the directive followed submissions to the bank by the NeFF and consultation with banks and electronic payments service providers, it had become imperative that an effective mechanism for receiving and responding promptly to fraud alerts be set up in the banking industry towards managing and reducing successful electronic payments fraud rates.
Fatokun said, “To this end, all DMBs, MMOs, switches and all payment service providers are hereby directed to maintain a dedicated fraud desk in their respective organisations.
“The fraud desk shall be appropriately staffed with personnel that have requisite training on emerging fraud trends on various electronic payments channels.”
The circular stated that the desk would provide support to customers on electronic frauds, with a minimum of 10 dedicated phone lines manned and available at all times.
The desk is also expected to log on all customer fraud alerts and complaints, and redirect them to the appropriate authorities in line with internally pre-defined path, while preparing and submitting reports regularly to the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System on fraud information.
The desk is expected to sensitise customers on e-fraud and fraud desk services as well as manage/resolve all intra-bank issues by leveraging on enterprise fraud management system.
“Banks shall implement across all electronic channels an enterprise fraud monitoring system, which ensures behavioural monitoring, patterns and hold/block controls on transactions suspected to be fraudulent.
“The provisions of this circular shall take effect from July 1, 2015, and failure to comply shall attract appropriate sanctions,” the CBN said.
Under the new arrangement, the NIBSS will be responsible for coordinating the industry as the provider of electronic platform for all the fraud desks across all banks, mobile money operators, switches and payments service providers to log frauds.
The NIBSS will also maintain direct and dedicated lines as well as email contacts of all stakeholders for the purpose of exchanging information and coordinating industry response to fraud attempts and incidents.
It will also ensure that the DMBs receive enhanced e-fraud portal/instant payment platform, with capabilities for banks to initiate ‘block’ and ‘hold funds’ electronic messages from a bank’s fraud desk to the other, while providing operational rules for effective fraud desk coordination.
Under the new arrangement, interbank transactions on all electronic channels are expected to be passed through the central anti-fraud solution in the NIBSS, which will have access to each bank’s record of fraudulent transactions and provide monthly reports to the CBN.
Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading Tier-1 financial institutions, has announced a remarkable financial performance for the first quarter of 2025, recording a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N105.8 billion, representing an impressive growth of 167.8% compared to N39.5 billion in Q1 2024.
Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc
The bank’s unaudited financial statements, released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on April 30, 2025, highlight a substantial increase in Gross Earnings, which rose to N315.4 billion, marking a year-on-year growth of 64.2% from N192.1 billion in the same period last year.
Growth in interest income was primarily led by 38.6% yoy (7.4% ytd) expansion in earning assets base, while the increase in non -interest revenue came from FX-related income, trade and commission on banking services, etc., supported by increased customer transactions.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, stated, “We started the year with triple-digit growth in profit and sustained the momentum in our earning assets growth.
This performance shows the resilience of our business model and reinforces our confidence in delivering a better result in the 2025 financial year.”
Other areas of the unaudited financial statements, equally show a marked improvement with Total Deposits growing by 11.1% ytd to N6.6tn from N5.9tn in December 2024, driven by 10.6% ytd growth in low-cost deposits to N6.1tn, which represents 92.2% of total customer deposits. Local currency deposits increased by 2.0% ytd while foreign currency deposits increased by 21.4% from $1.9bn in December 2024 to $2.3bn.
Net Loans and Advances increased by 5.0% ytd to N4.6tn. The growth in the bank’s Loan Book was skewed to LCY Loans as cost of risk declined to 0.6% from 1.5% in 2024FY.
“Beginning the year with such positive momentum reinforces our commitment to supporting the growth of individuals and businesses, while enhancing our financial sustainability. As we go into the rest of the year, we remain focused on building a resilient banking franchise with a diversified earnings base,” Onyeali-Ikpe added.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 9.1 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a technology adoption assessment survey for registered capital market operators as part of efforts to deepen innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian capital market.
In a circular, the SEC stated that the exercise was designed to evaluate the level of adoption of advanced technologies among CMOs operating within the Nigerian capital market.
According to the notice, “The following technology adoption survey is designed by the Commission to assess the adoption of advanced technologies among registered Capital Market Operators.”
The SEC directed all registered operators to log into the e-portal at using their current access credentials to complete the survey. The exercise will run for two weeks, from 5 to 20 May 2025.
Speaking recently on the role of innovation in the capital market, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, urged stakeholders to embrace technology as a catalyst for growth, improved transparency, operational efficiency, and market resilience.
He noted that the SEC recognises the emergence of new financial products and services driven by technological advancements, and remains committed to adapting its regulatory framework to meet the evolving needs of the market.
According to him, the commission’s approach to innovation is anchored on three pillars: investor safety, market deepening, and problem-solving aimed at building a robust and efficient capital market ecosystem.
Agama also highlighted the commission’s Regulatory Incubation Programme, which allows fintech startups to operate within a controlled environment for one year while appropriate rules are developed to govern their activities.
He said the programme is part of the SEC’s broader strategy to support innovation while safeguarding market integrity and investor interests.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) ,has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid about US$3.4 billion loan it got in April 2020 under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.
IMF said the loan has been repaid as of April 30, 2025 in a statement issued in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Thursday.
However, IMF said Nigeria is still expected to honour some additional payments in forms of Special Drawing Rights charges hat will amount to US$30 million annually.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion)
“The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount,” IMF said in the statement. Online fitness
Airtel Reveals Mechanism of Spam Alert Service
Nigerian Tech Prodigy sets World Record with Smallest GPS Tracker
Minister Seeks Digital Tech Adoption to Improve Agriculture, Boost Food Security
Africa Looks to Solar Amid Electricity Challenges
Fidelity Bank grows PBT by 167.8% to N105.8 billion in Q1 2025
Telecom3 days agoPAFON 2.0: Tizel Cybersecurity Calls for Vigilance over Surge in AI-Powered Fraud
E-Business3 days agoGov. Mbah Tasks Youths to Embrace Technology as Enugu Tech Festival Opens
News3 days agoPower Ministry, NAEC Partner to Unlock Nuclear Energy Potential
General News3 days agoFG Launches Virtual Privacy Academy
Telecom3 days agoSeerBit, Spectranet Unveil ExpressPay to Simplify Broadband Payments
News2 days agoTomato ‘Ebola’ May Disrupt Nigeria’s Agric Value Chain- Rewane
Broadcasting2 days agoMultiChoice vs FCCPC: Only President has Power to Fix Prices- Court
News3 days agoZamfara, Oracle Partner to Drive Digital Skills Development