Money market

By Wasiu Alli Lagos, May 22, 2025 – Fidelity Bank Nigeria has emerged as the fastest-growing Nigerian brand as the lender’s value more than tripled, displacing Stanbic IBTC, a new report by Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy revealed. The bank’s emergence highlights the lender’s expanding market influence and strong investor confidence as the financial institution continues to deliver value for its customers amid tough economic conditions. “Fidelity Bank’s brand value growth is underpinned by strong financial performance in 2024, during which the bank reported a 210% increase in …

Lagos, May 22, 2025 – In a decisive move underscoring unwavering confidence in Fidelity Bank Plc’s resilience, its Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has acquired an additional 18 million shares of the bank, valued at approximately ₦366 million. According to a regulatory filing posted on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) Disclosures portal, this strategic investment was executed at ₦20.35 per share on May 19, 2025, the same day an online platform published an unsubstantiated report on a Supreme Court ruling in a decades-long case that the bank inherited …

Washington, May 21, 2025 – America’s soaring national debt, now over $36.2 trillion, has triggered growing concern among economists and credit agencies like Moody’s, which recently downgraded the U.S. credit rating amid fears that economic growth won’t keep pace with rising debt and interest payments. Economists have criticized politicians’ plans to reduce America’s national debt as too little, too late. But analysts are warning that the issue is now coming home to roost, with the once unshakeable confidence in the United States’ fiscal future beginning to erode.  America’s national debt, which currently stands …

London, May 15, 2025 – Britain’s economy grew more than expected in the first quarter, official data showed Thursday, covering the period before business tax hikes and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz took effect. Gross domestic product rose 0.7 percent in the January-to-March period after only growing slightly in the final quarter of last year, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. It beats economists’ expectations of a 0.6 percent increase. The data comes as a boost for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour government, which …

Abuja, May 13, 2025 – The Debt Management Office (DMO) has opened subscriptions for N300 billion Series V11 Ijarah Sukuk to fund critical road projects across the country. The bond has a  seven-year tenor and annual rental rate (interest) of 19.75 per cent. The offer, which opened on Monday, is to bring total subscriptions so far to about N1.09 trillion. Patience Oniha, the Director-General of the DMO, disclosed this in Abuja at an investors’ form.  She recalled the entry of Sukuk into Nigeria’s financial sector in 2017 and its positive impact …

Washington, May 9, 2025 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a decline in global headline inflation at a slightly slower pace than anticipated in January The IMF said this in a statement on the April 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update released on Friday. It said forecasts for global growth had been revised markedly down compared with the January 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update to reflect effective tariff rates at levels not seen in a century and a highly unpredictable environment. The IMF said intensifying downside risks dominate the current …

Kigali (Rwanda), May 8, 2025 – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is to spearhead the launch of $1 billion Africa Film Fund. Afreximbank is launching the Fund through its development impact investment arm and the Fund for Export-Development in Africa (FEDA) as part of its Creative Africa Nexus Programme (CANEX). This investment is designed to revolutionise Global Africa’s film and creative industry. This move follows Afreximbank Group’s commitment at the CANEX Weekend (CANEX WKND 2024) in Algiers, Algeria, in October 2024, where the Bank announced plans to launch a private equity …

Abuja, May 8, 2025 – The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has questioned the rationale by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for downgrading its economic growth projection for Nigeria in 2025 from 3.2 percent to 3.0 percent on the back of the global oil slump.  According to the think tank, this is due to the fact that Nigeria has now reduced its dependence on crude oil as sole foreign exchange earner and diversified to other non-oil resources. In a policy statement signed by its Chairman Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI …

Abuja, May 5, 2025 – The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has said that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita at independence in 1960 was $93, not $1,847. This is contrary to the submission of Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank AfDB, at a recent forum in Lagos. In a statement signed by its Chairman Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, the policy think tank posited that its review of Adesina’s position showed that it was a misrepresentation of fact. IMPI said: “We have reviewed some of …