Interswitch Limited is considering initial public offerings in London and Lagos next year as it plans an expansion into new African markets, its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, has said.

The company processes payments for banks and owns a brand of debit cards in Nigeria

Elegbe said the organisation had discussed share sales with banks including Bank of America Corporation, Barclays Plc and Standard Bank Group Limited and might choose advisers for a transaction within a few months.

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“We’re looking at doing an IPO,” Elegbe, 43, who founded Interswitch in 2002, told Bloomberg in an interview in Lagos.

“We’re looking at the UK and Nigeria. Our industry is one that investors love; they understand it, especially in places like the UK,” he added.

Interswitch, which operates in five African countries and owns Verve, a Nigerian provider of debit cards, would be the second company from Nigeria to sell ordinary shares in both London and Lagos after Seplat Petroleum Development Company’s dual listing in April last year.

The London Stock Exchange has more than 120 listed African companies and expects about five Nigerian offerings over the next year, according to the co-Head of Emerging-Primary Markets, Mr. Ibukun Adebayo.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index has gained 14 per cent over the past three months after falling 16 per cent last year before elections and as sliding oil prices hit the economy.

Interswitch is about 70 per cent-held by London-based private equity group, Helios Investment Partners; South Africa’s Adlevo Capital Managers; and the International Finance Corporation, according to Elegbe.

Helios bought 52 per cent of Interswitch for $96m in December 2010, according to its website.

Interswitch has grown rapidly since then amid a proliferation of automated teller-machines and point of sale devices in Nigeria and it may look to use any capital it raises to fund further expansion, Elegbe said, declining to disclose the company’s revenues or profits.

“We’re a very liquid company,” he said. “But that’s not to say that if we go to the stock exchange we can’t achieve things a lot faster and on a bigger scale.”

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Wema Bank Plc says it has unveiled a new brand identity as part of the efforts to reposition itself as a modern and customer-focused bank.

In a statement on Monday, the lender said the development was in continuation of the strides it had made in the past three years to revamp the brand.

The new brand identity was unveiled in Lagos at an event marking the 70th anniversary of the indigenous bank, it added.

“This rebranding has been a thorough business evolution and will be launched across all customer touchpoints and communications channels,” the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi, said in the statement.

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According to him, the bank’s new logo speaks about the evolution of the relationships built with all its stakeholders over the years.

This, he said, was signified in the new brand by interconnecting lines which form a ‘W’.

He added, “As part of the rebrand, the bank’s traditional purple colour has been revised to project a more vibrant, welcoming and modern outlook.”

Oloketuyi said, “The customer is at the centre of everything we do and nurturing great relationships has been a hallmark of Wema Bank since its inception. We have also made significant investments in people, technology and process improvements in the last few years to lay a solid foundation for this rebranding to come to life”.

“I’m very proud to see the great changes that have taken place internally and externally at Wema Bank and we are committed to offering even better services into the future.”

Established on May 2, 1945, as Agbonmagbe Bank, Wema Bank is the longest surviving indigenous bank in Nigeria.

The bank has been striving in the last five years to gain a prominent position in the Nigerian banking industry.

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June 2, 2015 :

 

 

United States-based payment company, MasterCard Incorporated, has signed an agreement with Google to expand cashless transactions for its cardholders.

The agreement led to the introduction of Android Pay, a product which will enable MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid and small business cardholders to use their android phones for everyday purchases in-store and within Android apps.

According to a statement by MasterCard, the development provides its cardholders with more options for paying on the go using their mobile device

It added that the ubiquity of mobile phones was changing the way consumers pay.

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The statement said that starting this summer, owners of eligible Android devices would be able to use their MasterCard credit, debit, prepaid and small business cards directly through Android Pay.

The Chief Emerging Payments Officer, MasterCard, Ed McLaughlin, was quoted as saying, “Mobile payments are here today, and are now an essential part of the core value proposition for new devices.”

He said, “With the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service and Android Pay, we can now use secure tokens to easily enable payments from a consumer’s connected device.

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June 2, 2015

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, First City Monument Bank Limited, Mr. Ladi Balogun

First City Monument Bank Limited says it is committed to the holistic development of children.

An Executive Director at the bank, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, stated this when the lender hosted some less-privileged children at its corporate head office in Lagos, as part of the activities marking this year’s Children’s Day.

A statement by the bank quoted her as encouraging the children to take their education seriously while speaking to them on banking, entrepreneurship and leadership.

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She said, “Children are the bedrock of any society and must therefore be carefully and deliberately nurtured to grow into responsible citizens.

“They need all the pruning, care and affection to develop into whole adults that will be useful to themselves, their families and the society as a whole.”

As part of the celebration of Children’s Day, the bank said it had also initiated a nationwide special art contest themed: ‘I see my future.’

The competition, it said, was open to children between the ages of 6-12, and it was part of FCMB’s effort to encourage the culture of saving among children.

The statement quoted the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, had emphasised the need to introduce systems that would guarantee the well being of Nigerian children and youths.

He was quoted as saying at an earlier event organised for children earlier by the bank this year.

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June 2, 2015 : Samuel Awoyinfa

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

The President-elect, African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, has said he will work hard and develop programmes that will end poverty on the continent during his tenure.

He said this in Abeokuta on Monday during a thank you visit to Governor Ibikunle Amosun for his support while he was vying for the coveted position.

Adesina said the time had come for the Africa continent to tackle the challenges of inadequate electricity supply, unemployment and other social imbalances.

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He said, “I want to assure you that I as the President of the bank, by the grace of God, poverty will not be the comparative advantage of Africa and we will work very hard to develop programmes that will end poverty on this continent. I will evolve programmes that will lead people out of poverty and create opportunities for shared prosperity all across our continent.

“I think critical issues of infrastructure will be important; energy for all will be important; electricity will be important and critical to build the private sector and to create wealth all across our continent.

“We want to make sure we are able to create jobs for hundreds of millions of our people instead of people going across the Sahara Desert or the Mediterranean Sea to go to Europe; we want to create jobs on this continent of Africa and we can do that.”

Adesina said there was the need to revive rural economies in Africa and lift hundreds of rural people that depended on agriculture out of poverty.

“So, getting agriculture to work as a business is going to be a big one that we are going to do for inclusive growth and also into regional integration,” he added.

Adesina further stressed that his vision for Africa was that of a stable, peaceful and a secured continent.

“My dream and vision for Africa is one; an Africa that is growing well, has a lot of shared prosperity and an Africa where you have a lot of peace, stability and security, and one which is regionally integrated within ourselves but also globally competitive in what we do,” he added.

The governor, in his response, expressed confidence in Adesina, stressing that his performance as the immediate past Minister of Agriculture placed him in a better stead for better performance at the AfB.

“You did well when you served the nation as the Minister of Agriculture, and now that you are going to serve the entire continent of Africa, I believe you will do better. I am happy this is happening during my own time,” Amosun said.

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