SEC begins regulatory incubation for fintechs
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Sunday that it has opened the Regulatory Incubation (RI) programme for fintech firms operating or wanting to operate in the country’s capital market.
“This is to inform you that the portal for submitting applications is now ready to receive applications from Cohort 001/23. Cohorts will be announced at specific times,” the commission said in a circular made public in Abuja.
It added that the RI portal would be opened between April 28 and May 26 for registered capital market operators and unregistered fintech innovators who required regulation.
“The circular identifies those that can apply as registered Capital Market Operators, unregistered fintech innovators that require regulation.
“Others are firms of all sizes and firms that want to enhance investor participation in the country’s capital market,” it said.
CBN says no plans to phase out redesigned naira notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Sunday said there are no plans to phase out the newly redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes from circulation.
The clarification follows what the apex bank described as ‘a fake news item circulating in the media’, particularly in the social media space, suggesting that the bank is contemplating the withdrawal of the recently redesigned N1000, N500 and N200 currency banknotes from circulation.
“We wish to state emphatically that such speculation is unfounded and a ploy by some interests to cause panic among members of the public,” Isa AbdulMumim, CBN’s acting director, corporate communications stated in a mailed note.
“We wish to reiterate that the new and old currency notes have been circulating side by side just as the bank has been taking delivery of a good quantity of the redesigned bank notes from the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) Limited,” he added.
Read more: CBN says no plans to phase out redesigned naira notes
FMBN promises to deal with the challenges in mortgage sector
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMB) has promised to provide solutions to many of the challenges facing the mortgage industry in the country.
Madu Hamman, FMBN Managing Director, said this during the first quarter Mortgage Sector Virtual Forum, organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria Financial System Strategy and themed “Navigating Current Challenges in the Nigerian Mortgage Market.”
Hamman said that one of the biggest challenges facing the mortgage industry was the high cost of borrowing.
The MD added that the inflationary situation in the economy was a major factor driving up the costs of building materials in the country, a situation that has resulted in higher prices for building materials, houses, and rent.
NIN enrolment dropped by 41% in April — NIMC
In its latest report, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) revealed that the National Identification Number (NIN) enrollment fell by 41.63 percent from 8 million in the first four months of 2022 to 4.67 million in 2023.
New data obtained from the NIMC report stated that 8 million people registered for NIN in the first four months of 2022, as total enrollment figures rose from 72.7 million as of January 1, 2022, to 80.7 million as of April 23, 2022.
However, new enrollment fell to 4.67 million in the previous period of 2023 as total enrollment rose from 94 million as of December 31, 2022, to 98.7 million as of April 28, 2023.
Lagos leads the table for the state with the most enrollment with 10.83 million, while Bayelsa had the least enrollment with 623,902.
PNC, JPMorgan putting in final bids for First Republic Bank in FDIC auction
PNC Financial Services Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citizens Financial Group Inc were among banks that submitted final bids for First Republic Bank on Sunday in an auction being run by U.S. regulators, sources familiar with the matter said.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp had been expected to announce a deal on Sunday night, with the regulator likely to say at the same time that it had seized the lender, three sources previously told Reuters.
As the process dragged into Sunday evening, one source familiar with the situation said the regulators had come back multiple times with requests for bids to be revised and specific criteria to be refined on assets that were being bid. That source said there was a sense a decision was nearing.
U.S. regulators have been trying to clinch a sale of First Republic over the weekend, with roughly half a dozen banks bidding, sources said on Saturday, in what is likely to be the third major U.S. bank to fail in two months. Guggenheim Securities is advising the FDIC, two sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday. (Reuters)
