Daily Watch – Capital inflows spike in Q3, 50 DMBs shuttered in 17 years over NPLs
28th November 2017
- The total value of capital imported into Nigeria more than doubled in the third quarter to $4.15 billion, after the economy emerged from a recession, the NBS said on Monday. Nigeria’s economy grew in the second quarter, climbing out of its first recession in 25 years, as oil revenues rose. Last year the central bank imposed currency controls to prevent a collapse in the naira, which affected foreign capital inflows. The NBS said capital imports were over $4 billion in the third quarter, the first such quarterly rise since 2015, just before the economy tipped into a recession. The rise was driven by portfolio and other investments. The United Kingdom and the United States were among the top 10 sources of imported capital, the statistics office said.
- FIRS chairman, Babatunde Fowler says the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme, has generated ₦16.9 billion at the federal level alone. Speaking at a programme where the 2018–2020 MTEF-FSP were reviewed, he said the agency had reached 79.35 percent or ₦3.233 trillion of its 2017 target within 10 months, adding that the FIRS already had strategies for achieving its 2018 objectives. The programme was organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance and Appropriations. Finance minister Kemi Adeosun said on Sunday that 500 letters will be sent to defaulters and thousands more will get such letters pursuant to the scheme. VAIDS, which gives tax defaulters a window to regularise payments, will end in March 2018.
- The NDIC says 50 Nigerian banks shut down between 1994 and 2011 because of loans granted to their directors. Director of Bank Examination, Adedayo Adeleke in a workshop with business editors and financial correspondents said regulators remain worried about the rising rate of NPLs in Nigerian banking. As of December 2016, 25 DMBs had a total loan portfolio of ₦18.53 trillion, of which ₦1.85 trillion were NPLs, representing 10 percent of the total sum and higher than the regulatory five percent CBN threshold for DMBs. The Punch reports that a number of bank directors had been dismissed by the CBN over cases of insider abuse relating to NPLs.
- Fitch Ratings has assigned Nigeria’s $1.5 billion 6.5 percent senior unsecured notes due 28 November 2027 and $1.5 billion 7.625 percent senior unsecured notes due 28 November 2047 the final rating of ‘B+’. The final rating replaces the expected rating of ‘B+(EXP)’ that Fitch assigned on 15 November. The expected rating is in line with Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B+’ with a negative outlook.
- Afrinvest Asset Management – a subsidiary of Afrinvest – has launched the Afrinvest Plutus Fund; a simple and affordable saving solution designed for all classes of income earners with a minimum subscription of ₦5,000. The Afrinvest Plutus Fund is an open-ended money market unit trust scheme approved by the SEC with a primary goal to achieve overall positive total returns for investors who value stability, liquidity, real returns, and security of their financial assets, in line with unitholders’ investment goals. The fund will offer ₦10,000,000 units at ₦100 per unit from 20 November to 18 December 2017.