E-Financial
DMO Appoints Stanbic IBTC as New FG Stockbroker
The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday appointed Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited as the Federal Government’s official stockbroker, marking a strategic move to bolster Nigeria’s domestic bond market.
In its new role, Stanbic IBTC – a prominent stockbroking and investment management firm in Nigeria- is expected to help government attract necessary investments and develop the retail market.
The appointment comes after the tenure of CSL Stockbrokers Ltd., a subsidiary of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), expired.
Patience Oniha, Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), stated that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers would serve as a vital platform for retail investors while also providing regular guidance and advisory services to the Government.
She explained the reason why Government needed a stockbroker whose functions are clearly defined, first of all, to comply with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) requirements, being the largest issuer of securities, and secondly to deepen the market.
“We did quite a lot with wholesale investors, and that has helped us to achieve diversification for our FGN bonds, and the sukuk.
“But we realised that this smaller group may not have the money like the big players. They can invest in equities, but we believe that giving them fixed income securities is also another option.
“For that reason, we need to create awareness, particularly for products targeted at them – the FGN savings bond, and also create a secondary market for them,” Oniha explained at a brief event to announce the appointment in Abuja”, she said.
She Stanbic IBTC stockbrokers was chosen since it is a strong and respected brand with a wide reach – in the retail, capital market, and pension business as well.
“Those qualities matche our needs. Their sheer reputation, diversification as a group, and they have been in this role before for the federal government, but now with an expanded role.
“All of those sort of qualified you for the appointment as the government stockbroker”, she added.
She recognised the low awareness in the retail market, noting that increasing awareness would be one of the key responsibilities of the new stockbroker.
She emphasised that liquidity, awareness campaigns, workshops, and similar initiatives would be essential to support that segment of the market.
She stated that the DMO had made significant progress since initiating the process of appointing a Government stockbroker with an expanded role, but emphasised that “there is still much more to be done through engagements with other institutions and retail investors.”
She affirmed the DMO’s commitment to collaborating with Stanbic IBTC to achieve their established objectives.
Additionally, she indicated that the DMO would periodically seek guidance and advice from Stanbic IBTC.
Bunmi Olarinoye, Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, expressed her gratitude for the confidence placed in the firm and the opportunity to assume such a pivotal role.
She stated that the DMO’s plan to enhance the retail segment of the market aligns with their own objectives, as they have been developing strategies to strengthen and enrich that area.
She emphasised that enlightenment and awareness are crucial elements they had identified for growing and expanding that segment of the market, and they would focus vigorously on these initiatives to attract more investors.
She also assured that they would collaborate with the DMO to deepen the market and achieve their established goals.
World Bank has approved an additional $65 million loan for Nigeria to support the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, increasing the total financing for the initiative to $145 million.
The approval was granted on June 24, 2025, according to details posted on the World Bank’s website, which also indicates that the project’s status has moved to “active” following the approval.
The SPESSE project, initially launched with an $80 million loan approved in February 2020, aims to strengthen institutional capacity for managing procurement, environmental, and social standards in both the public and private sectors across Nigeria.
The World Bank described the project’s development objective as the establishment of sustainable capacity in these areas.
This latest approval is part of a broader wave of financing expected from the World Bank to Nigeria in 2025.
The bank is scheduled to approve loans totalling $1.61 billion over the coming months, supporting various development initiatives.
Among these is a $300 million loan for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ expected to be finalised by the end of July.
This project aims to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in selected local government areas in northern Nigeria.
In September, the World Bank plans to approve four additional loans: a $10.5 million facility to support technical assistance for the Central Bank of Nigeria, a $300 million Health Security Program targeting Western and Central Africa (Nigeria – Phase IV), a $500 million project for building resilient digital infrastructure (BRIDGE), and a $500 million loan under the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project aimed at promoting sustainable growth and job creation within key agricultural sectors.
Earlier in March 2025, the bank approved three financing requests amounting to $1.13 billion.
These funds are directed towards projects focused on enhancing quality education, boosting household and community resilience, and improving nutrition.
Among the approved loans were $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, and $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
In February, the Nigerian government announced expectations of new World Bank loans totalling $2.2 billion for six different projects in 2025. This follows a $1.5 billion loan disbursed in 2024 aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation efforts.
Ecobank, a pan-African financial services group, has partnered with Google Cloud in a deal to improve financial services with advanced analytics, AI and driving digital empowerment across Africa.
This collaboration will focus on leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced technologies and AI to enhance Ecobank’s digital offerings to accelerate the digital transformation of the Bank.
The partnership agreement is designed to empower individuals, support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, and contribute to the overall economic development of Africa.
“Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a leap forward in Ecobank’s digital transformation journey. We look forward to leveraging Google Cloud’s world-class technology to unlock new possibilities for individuals and businesses to grow and scale across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, group chief executive officer of Ecobank.
“This collaboration signifies our shared intent to explore building a more connected and financially inclusive future for the continent.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, stated that Google Cloud and Ecobank have a shared vision for using technology to help deliver financial empowerment to more people and businesses in Africa.
“We look forward to exploring the ways our cutting-edge AI, powerful data analytics, and scalable infrastructure can support Ecobank’s efforts to fuel the continent’s economic development and digital future.”
The collaboration aims to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. By leveraging Google Cloud’s capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has announced the successful close of the N148.7 billion Rights Issue subscription exercise following the completion of the verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and final clearance by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Stanbic IBTC Holdings said the Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 21.9 percent, adding that the holding company has injected N140 billion into Stanbic IBTC Bank.
Kunle Adedeji, acting Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc while commenting on the just concluded rights issue programme said that “The turnout and participation of existing shareholders taking up their rights was impressive such that the rights issue was oversubscribed by 21.9percent to the tune of N181.4 billion. Our shareholders’ interest shows the confidence they continue to have in the brand,” he said.
“We appreciate the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria, The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Lead Issuing house, Joint Issuing houses and other stakeholders in the successful completion of the recapitalisation exercise.
“We are optimistic about future opportunities, as the injection of new capital will position us to take advantage of them to enable us to deliver to our shareholders. To all shareholders, we are grateful for your unwavering belief and support for the Stanbic IBTC Brand and your willingness to continue this journey with us,” Adedeji said.
Having received an injection of N140 billion from the parent company, the Chief Executive of the Banking subsidiary, Wole Adeniyi, remarked that “the injection of the new capital into the banking subsidiary is a positive development. This will enable the Bank to seize additional opportunities within the industry and enhance our Single Obligor Limit (SOL).
“We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our regulators, issuing houses, and all other stakeholders. We extend our sincere gratitude for your continued support.”
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