E-Financial
FSDH Merchant Bank Signs N20m Facility with AfDB to Boost Business in Nigeria

FSDH Merchant Bank has signed $20 million Trade Finance Facility Agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), aimed at significantly impacting trade financing across emerging sectors in Nigeria.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Trade Finance Facility comprises a $15 million Trade Finance Line of Credit tailored to support medium-sized businesses and indigenous corporates engaged in international trade value chains along with a $5 million Transaction Guarantee aimed at facilitating the confirmation of FSDH’s trade finance transactions.
Commenting on the development, Bukola Smith, Managing Director FSDH Merchant Bank, said: “We have been looking forward to receiving this financing, we are glad to take this pivotal step in empowering businesses. We have a long-standing partnership with AfDB and just like we did with the first facility we received from the AfDB, we promise that this one will be well utilized because it will help us grow our business and meet the needs of our clients, including sectors like Agriculture, renewable energy and women-owned enterprises.”
“Empowering businesses is at the core of our promise and this line of credit will play a pivotal role in enabling our support for those businesses by providing them with the necessary financial resources to thrive and expand their operations’’.
Also speaking, Mr. Lamin Barrow, the Director-General of the Nigeria Country Department at AfDB, emphasised the pivotal role of trade in economic development, likening trade finance to its lubricant. The AfDB has an active portfolio in Nigeria that comprises 48 operations valued at $4.4 billion.
“It covers 24 public sector projects amounting to $2.5 billion and 24 private sector operations valued at $1.9 billion. While acknowledging the constraints in the supply of trade finance in Africa, Barrow highlighted the AfDB’s support for more than 120 financial institutions across 30 African countries, resulting in the catalysis of over $10 billion in trade over the past decade.”
Speaking further, Barrow said: “FSDH and the AfDB have enjoyed an enduring partnership in supporting SMEs and Nigerian Corporates engaged in trade and export value chains.
“In 2016; the AfDB extended a $50 million Trade Finance Line of Credit to FSDH, a 3.5–year facility that performed well. It supported more than 370 transactions, catalysed $375 million of trade and benefitted over 60 SMEs and Corporations in critical sectors including energy, agri-business, health and boosting intra-Africa trade.”
FSDH Merchant Bank explained that it is known for partnerships aimed at supporting the growth of businesses and this is no exception.
“In 2016, AfDB extended a $50 million Trade Finance Line of Credit to the bank, and the facility performed well, reiterating FSDH’s commitment to the growth of the business ecosystem in Nigeria.
“To drive further support for entrepreneurship in Nigeria, the bank has a business banking desk that caters to emerging businesses, and small corporates through innovative business-friendly risk assets, liability, and digital banking propositions.
“The bank also serves women-led businesses with appropriate tools for growth and impact through access to finance, networks, business support and advisory services through its Women in Business Initiative (WIBI),” the bank said.
“This collaboration underscores FSDH’s commitment to fostering economic development by providing crucial financial support to businesses operating in Nigeria. Additionally, the $5 million Transaction Guarantee will enhance FSDH’s capacity to execute trade finance transactions with confidence, fostering increased trade activities within the local market.
“FSDH Merchant Bank looks forward to the positive impact of this partnership, anticipating that it will unlock new opportunities, stimulate economic activities, and ultimately contribute to the sustainable growth of the Nigerian economy,” it added.
E-Financial
Edun, Finance Minister Inaugurates NDIC New Management

Mr Wale Edun, minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, has inaugurated Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, new managing director/chief executive officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and Dr Kabir Sabo Katata, executive director (Operations), at the Ministry of Finance, Abuja.

Mr Wale Edun, minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, flanked by Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, new managing director/chief executive officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and Dr Kabir Sabo Katata, executive director (Operations),
In his speech during the occasion, the Minister submitted that the NDIC, as a component of the financial safety-net has a crucial role to play in the nation’s march to economic stability and prosperity.
He therefore charged the Management team to bring their diverse wealth of experience to bear on their new assignment while assuring them of the ministry’s full support in the task ahead.
Responding, Mr Sunday who spoke on behalf of the Management team, expressed appreciation to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for their appointment.
He assured the Hon Minister of the readiness of the Management under his leadership to live up to expectations of the President in particular and the nation in general in the discharge of their duties.
The Management later received by the Corporation’s Head Office with a warm welcome by the workforce.
A statement signed by Hawwau Gambo, head, Communication & Public Affairs Department, revealed that Addressing the workers on behalf the Management team, Mr. Sunday promised to work in harmony with the staff to move the Corporation to its next level performance.
He stressed that the Management’s focus would be based on the public policy objectives, functions and mandate devolved on the Corporation by the enabling law that established it.
Thompson Oludare Sunday is a seasoned financial expert with over 30 years of regulatory and supervisory experience.
Having cut his teeth with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1989, he went ahead to acquire high-end knowledge in Central Banking, spending 24 unbroken years in banking supervision.
While his vast experience is in the regulation and supervision of licensed institutions, his deep expertise span corporate governance, risk management and compliance as veritable tool for ensuring the safety and soundness of institutions.
He is a highly analytical and cross functional team worker with strong interest in building individual and institutional capacity for transformation and excellence.
Thompson’s skills and experience were horned by several key responsibilities and special assignments he handled for the apex Bank before his retirement as a Director 2021.
Kabir Sabo Katata, ED (Operations), is a quantitative energy strategist and computational finance expert with strong power trading and risk management experience.
He has over twenty-eight years’ experience in the design and management of technically innovative systems in multiple industries including telecommunications, IT, energy (petroleum & power), finance and government.
He is a specialist in sophisticated financial optimization, the application of modern statistical techniques and mathematics to energy, deposit insurance and banking sectors.
Dr. Katata joined the service of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2012 as an Assistant Director in the Research, Policy and International Relations Department and rose to the pinnacle of his career as Director in January 2022, before his new appointment as Executive Director (Operations).
E-Financial
NIBBS: Banks Close 29.4m Accounts, Dormant Accounts Hit 33.39m

Banks in Nigeria closed 29.4 million accounts as of March 2025, according to the latest report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The figure represents a sharp year-on-year increase of 30.43 per cent from the 22.54 million closed accounts recorded in March 2024.
It also reflects a steady rise in account closures over recent months, with 33.29 million closed accounts reported in February 2025 and 29.43 million in January.
The report also revealed a significant increase in dormant accounts, which surged to 33.39 million in March 2025, up from 19.79 million in the same period in 2024, a 71.3 per cent rise in inactive accounts over the past year.
Despite the spike in closures and dormant accounts, the number of active bank accounts rose from 219.64 million in March 2024 to 320.05 million in March 2025, representing an increase of over 100 million, or 45.7 per cent.
NIBSS defines a dormant account as one that has seen no deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or point-of-sale transaction for a period of six months.
The surge in account closures and dormancy follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive issued in December 2023, mandating commercial banks to restrict Tier-1 accounts not linked to a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) by March 1, 2024.
In response to the directive, BVN enrolment increased from 61.6 million in April 2024 to 66.23 million by July 2025, as more Nigerians rushed to meet the CBN’s compliance deadline.
E-Financial
Cardoso, CBN Boss Risks Arrest over Alleged N5.2 Trillion Unremitted Funds

The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on Public Accounts and Public Assets has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over repeated failure to honour its invitations regarding the probe into non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and Finance Act 2020.

Olayemi Cardoso,, Gov, CBN
In a joint statement released on Friday and signed by Hon. Bamidele Salam and Hon. Ademorin Kuye, chairmen of the committees, the lawmakers decried the CBN governor’s continued disregard for legislative summons.
The committee is investigating the non-remittance of operating surplus as well as the mismanagement of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
According to the committee, the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation reported a liability of N5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surplus due to the federal government from 2016 to 2022; a claim corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate submission to the National Assembly.
The committee cited provisions of the Finance Act 2020, which mandate that unclaimed dividends from publicly listed companies and dormant bank account balances older than six years be transferred into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund. The fund is to be managed by a Governing Council led by the Minister of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Contrary to this, the CBN maintains that the Financial Institutions Act 2020 empowers it to manage dormant balances.
However, the committee noted that the Attorney General of the Federation has issued a legal opinion affirming that the Finance Act 2020 remains the valid law guiding the management of such funds.
Following extensive submissions, the committee resolved that the CBN must remit N3.64 trillion, representing 70% of the undisputed N5.2 trillion operating surplus, within 14 days from receipt of its June 27, 2025, directive, pending final reconciliation of the disputed amount.
Additionally, the apex bank was directed to submit a detailed report on the total sum of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances by June 30, 2025.
The CBN was also ordered to transfer these funds into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund within 14 days and furnish the House with evidence of the transaction.
The lawmakers expressed frustration that, despite the clear directives and ample time, the CBN governor has failed to respond or appear before the joint committee to provide an explanation.
“In view of this continued defiance, the Committee will be compelled to exercise its constitutional powers to compel Mr. Olayemi Cardoso to appear before it,” the statement warned.
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