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E-Financial

Cisco Warns Banks, Others of Increased Cyber- Attacks

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Picture credit: /thecomingcrisis.blogspot.com
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The increasing threats of cybercrime menace may impact more on the activities of banks and other financial institutions, oil and gas and other sectors of the economy, except urgent measures are implemented.

Speaking at the presentation of the 2014 Cisco Mobility Report in Lagos, Dare Ogunlade, Cisco’s Country Manager, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana, noted that cyber insecurity was posing great danger to individuals, businesses and governments across the globe, growing at an average 14 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

Ogunlade said while agriculture, mining, electronics and pharmaceutical industries characterised the list vulnerable sectors on a global scale, the Nigerian case is a peculiar one where banks, operators in the oil and gas industry and government appear to be the most vulnerable.

According to him, the advent of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), a practice where workers bring their personal PC and other devices to an office environment and connect same to an organisation’s network to work, has made cyber-attacks to increase astronomically.

“Hackers work in collaborations with each other’s to actually launch attacks on organisations and the trend is becoming a lot more difficult because organisations have not really come to terms with the complexity of cyber-attacks,” he said.

He noted that 91 per cent of Java-based applications were compromised because it is the most popular language of the Internet with open source capability. While lamenting lack of security experts, who can identify threats and nip them in the bud in most organisations, Ogunlade described security solution as an end–to-end practice, which organisations must deploy but decried that it currently suffers inadequate skills.

“Organizations across Africa must realize that it is no longer if they will targeted by cyber-attacks, but rather when. Chief Information Security Officers face growing pressure to protect terabytes of data on an increasingly porous network, manage information safely especially on the cloud, and evaluate the risks of working with third-party vendors for specialized solutions – all in the wake of shrinking budgets and leaner IT teams”, he stressed.

Explaining the severity and complexity of cyber-attacks, Adeola Kukoyi, a Cisco security technology expert, said that 60 per cent of data is stolen in hours, 54 per cent of breaches remain undiscovered, while 100 per cent of companies are connected to domains that host malicious files or services. Kukoyi, thus, unveiled a 10-point checklist provided in the Cisco’s security report to help organisations guide against cyber-attacks.

He listed that the checklist to include assessment of the totality of companies’ networks; re-evaluation of acceptable use policy and business code of conduct; determination of what data must be protected; knowing where the company’s data is and understanding how and if is being secured.

Kukoyi advised firms to among other things,”assess your company user education practices, use egress monitoring (monitor what is being sent out of your organisation and by whom and to where), prepare from the inevitability of BYOD, create an incident response plan, implement security measures to help compensate for lack of control over social networks, and monitor the dynamic risk landscape as well as
Cisco Warns Banks, Others of Increased Cyber- Attacks

The increasing threats of cybercrime menace may impact more on the activities of banks and other financial institutions, oil and gas and other sectors of the economy, except urgent measures are implemented.

Speaking at the presentation of the 2014 Cisco Mobility Report in Lagos, Dare Ogunlade, Cisco’s Country Manager, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana, noted that cyber insecurity was posing great danger to individuals, businesses and governments across the globe, growing at an average 14 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

Ogunlade said while agriculture, mining, electronics and pharmaceutical industries characterised the list vulnerable sectors on a global scale, the Nigerian case is a peculiar one where banks, operators in the oil and gas industry and government appear to be the most vulnerable.

According to him, the advent of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), a practice where workers bring their personal PC and other devices to an office environment and connect same to an organisation’s network to work, has made cyber-attacks to increase astronomically.

“Hackers work in collaborations with each other’s to actually launch attacks on organisations and the trend is becoming a lot more difficult because organisations have not really come to terms with the complexity of cyber-attacks,” he said.

He noted that 91 per cent of Java-based applications were compromised because it is the most popular language of the Internet with open source capability. While lamenting lack of security experts, who can identify threats and nip them in the bud in most organisations, Ogunlade described security solution as an end–to-end practice, which organisations must deploy but decried that it currently suffers inadequate skills.

“Organizations across Africa must realize that it is no longer if they will targeted by cyber-attacks, but rather when. Chief Information Security Officers face growing pressure to protect terabytes of data on an increasingly porous network, manage information safely especially on the cloud, and evaluate the risks of working with third-party vendors for specialized solutions – all in the wake of shrinking budgets and leaner IT teams”, he stressed.

Explaining the severity and complexity of cyber-attacks, Adeola Kukoyi, a Cisco security technology expert, said that 60 per cent of data is stolen in hours, 54 per cent of breaches remain undiscovered, while 100 per cent of companies are connected to domains that host malicious files or services. Kukoyi, thus, unveiled a 10-point checklist provided in the Cisco’s security report to help organisations guide against cyber-attacks.

He listed that the checklist to include assessment of the totality of companies’ networks; re-evaluation of acceptable use policy and business code of conduct; determination of what data must be protected; knowing where the company’s data is and understanding how and if is being secured.

Kukoyi advised firms to among other things,”assess your company user education practices, use egress monitoring (monitor what is being sent out of your organisation and by whom and to where), prepare from the inevitability of BYOD, create an incident response plan, implement security measures to help compensate for lack of control over social networks, and monitor the dynamic risk landscape as well as keep users and employees informed.”

 keep users and employees informed.”


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E-Financial

Fidelity Bank grows PBT by 167.8% to N105.8 billion in Q1 2025

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Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc
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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

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.


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E-Financial

SEC Launches Capital Market Technology Survey

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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.

SEC Launches Capital Market Technology Survey

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.


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E-Financial

IMF Confirms Nigeria’s Full Repayment of $3.4bn COVID-19 Loan

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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 Confirms Nigeria's Full Repayment of $3.4bn COVID-19 Loan

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

 

 

 


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