Access Bank targets local investors
By Kabanda Chulu
Tue 30 Apr. 2013, 14:00 CAT
ACCESS Bank Zambia has concluded a Private Placement targeted at local investors from which a total of US$21 million has been received.
The Private Placement will enable the bank convert to a local institution as it seeks to meet the minimum capital requirement of KR104 million (US$20 million).
Access Bank, which is originally from Nigeria, is also listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
"Suffice to say that once we receive all the funds pledged, Access Bank Zambia Limited will be well within the Bank of Zambia's stipulated Capital requirement, with 51 per cent of the Bank vested in the local shareholders," Access Bank Zambia managing director Jekwu Ozoemene said in an interview in Lusaka.
"However, Access Bank Plc will still maintain management control to enable the local related company leverage off the network and connections of the Group."
On macroeconomic fundamentals, Ozoemene said the Zambian economy was strong and moving towards a positive direction, provided political stability and sound macroeconomic policies were maintained.
"We see inflation closing at the target approximately seven per cent. We also foresee the economy expanding at a rate of about seven to eight per cent in view of the anticipated huge infrastructure spending by the government," he said. "On depreciation of the kwacha, the local currency may have depreciated against the US dollar but has actually appreciated against other currencies such as the rand, euro and evidences more of a strengthening of the US dollar than the weakening of the Kwacha."
He dismissed assertions that commercial banks were operating a cartel in the country, resulting in similar lending rates.
"Commercial banks in Zambia (Access Bank being one of them) are in competition with each other thus I find it extremely difficult to support or believe the assertion that such a cartel exists," Ozoemene said.
"Having said that, however, if such a situation is found to operate in this market, then the regulatory authorities should not just stop short at pronouncing the existence of the cartel, but should see it through the apprehending of identified culprits and applying the appropriate sanctions."
Labels: ACCESS BANK, KARTELS
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Rupiah commends ZRA’s increased revenue collection
By Fridah Zinyama
Fri 02 Apr. 2010, 04:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has said Zambia’s tax revenue collection measured as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has moved from 13 per cent at the inception of Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to an average of 18 per cent.
And ZRA and Access Bank have signed an e-payment solutions agreement which will allow tax payers to pay their taxes with the bank.
During the ZRA second Taxpayers Appreciation Day at Mulungushi International Conference Centre yesterday under the theme ‘Recognising and Encouraging Voluntary Compliance in Revenue Collection’, President Banda, who was represented by commerce minister Felix Mutati said the current Authority’s revenue collection contributed 70 per cent to the national budget.
“It is thus evident that ZRA has managed to increase revenue collection and has performed above the set targets in most of the years of its existence,” he said. “The critical role ZRA plays in the provision of the resources for the budget and thereby in national building cannot be overemphasised.”
President Banda said the government recognises and appreciates the various initiatives that had been implemented through reforms and modernisation efforts at ZRA.
“I can confirm that my government works closely with ZRA on matters of tax law reforms and on the simplification of tax laws to enable officials apply tax laws in a fair, equitable and transparent manner,” he said.
President Banda noted that ZRA had continued on the path to integrating its operations and segmenting taxpayers according to size.
“Proof of this is in the establishment of the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) last year and also in the Medium and Small taxpayers offices launched today,” he said, adding that it was a pleasing development as government had been looking forward to the successful establishment of the Medium Taxpayers Offices (MTO) and Small Taxpayers Office (STO).
President Banda said there was no doubt that ZRA needed to focus attention on the taxation of the informal sector.
“We are alive to the fact that taxing the informal sector is a challenge that calls for concerted efforts; but are confident that ZRA will rise to the occasion,” President Banda said. “ZRA must focus on this category of taxpayers as it also has the potential to contribute significantly to the national treasury and possibly mitigate the burden of the formal sector.”
President Banda said apart from enhanced taxpayer education services, ZRA should build capacity to administer the integration of tax operations at the district and regional levels for small and medium taxpayers.
And ZRA Commissioner General Chriticles Mwansa said in an effort to improve their service delivery, the authority would introduce a new product in partnership with Access Bank.
“We have discussed with all the banks and floated this idea to them to participate and Access Bank has already met the requirements,” he said. “Other banks will join on this platform as and when they fulfil the requirements.”
Mwansa explained that through this facility, taxpayers would be able to effect payments of customs duties though banks or through the internet.
“We hope that we shall increase revenues and create a predictable expectation of our contribution to the provision of resource to government,” he said. “It is against this background that we will continue with our efforts to modernise our tax administration systems and procedures, enhance corporate governance, improve professionalism and productivity of our staff as well as make our work environment not only safe but also conducive to production.”
Mwansa added that ZRA had embarked on strategies to reduce the cost of doing business in the country in line with the government policy.
“The authority remains resolved in its determination to improve service delivery and implementation of legal provisions relating to tax administration,” he said.
Mwansa said simplified systems and partnerships with taxpayers and the general public were critical to encouraging taxpayers to dutifully discharge their tax obligations.
“We have in place a modernisation programme aimed at improving our overall service delivery to the taxpayers and implementing policies and procedures to ensure effective tax administration and an overall expansion of the taxpayers base,” said Mwansa.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, PAYMENT SYSTEMS, RUPIAH BANDA, ZRA
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Number of commercial banks in Zambia is still manageable, says Musokotwane
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 29 Oct. 2009, 04:00 CAT
FINANCE minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has said the increasing number of commercial banks in Zambia is manageable as the Central Bank has enough regulatory and supervisory tools for monitoring.
Speaking during the Access Bank UK (United Kingdom) presentation on Tuesday night, Dr Musokotwane said the local financial sector was not likely to experience a crisis seen in the 1990s which was brought about by the proliferation of financial institutions.
The domestic financial sector has in the last few years recorded an average annual increase of over 30 per cent. And the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has this year alone registered five foreign banks and two have since commenced operations.
At the height of the local financial crisis in the 1990, certain key commercial banks which included Meridien Bank and Credit Africa Bank were placed under liquidation, throwing a lot of depositors in anguish and agony.
“The BoZ governor Dr Caleb Fundanga was telling us that we have issued licences to five new banks, so it is going to be very competitive,” Dr Musokotwane said.
“I was at there in the 1990s; I was at the Central Bank when there were so many new banks that were licenced. Unfortunately many of them went under. And it was very stressful. It was a bitter experience to licence and then close them.
“People were coming to my office complaining bitterly that they had lost their money...I believe that we have learnt a lesson. Certainly, our regulatory framework and supervisory framework is much stronger now. So we are going to help you not to close so that you make business.”
Dr Musokotwane said entry of new commercial banks in the country would reduce the cost of lending through inducing competition.
He said despite the increase in the number of commercial banks, the government was committed to attracting new players, urging all institutions connected to attracting investments in the country to continue repositioning themselves in line with the desire of the government.
And Access Bank UK managing director Jemmy Simon said the Nigerian-headquartered bank would continue to deliver financial products targeted at real sectors of the economy.
Simon stressed that customers would continue to be central to the growth of Access Bank.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, BANKING, SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE
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ZSIC, Access Bank agree to help small-scale farmers
Written by George Zulu in Monze
Tuesday, September 01, 2009 4:39:11 PM
ZAMBIA State Insurance Group and Access Bank Africa have agreed to help small-scale farmers in Zambia under the New Munda credit scheme run by the National Association for Peasant and Small Scale Farmers of Zambia. This is an K8 billion credit scheme aimed at improving food production in the country.
ZSIC managing director Irene Muyenga said this in an interview after the launch of the agriculture inputs distribution for 2009/2010 farming season in Monze.
She said the scheme was meant to empower small-scale farmers throughout the country and that her organisation, which would act as collateral, had partnered with Access Bank to finance the credit scheme.
Muyenga said farmers should take this opportunity seriously and ensure that the funds which were in form of all the inputs needed were utilised accordingly in order to improve their livelihood and contribute towards the credit scheme.
“ZISC has entered into this business as collateral while Access Bank is financing the programme but I have to quickly mention that farmers to benefit from this credit scheme should work towards increasing their production in order for them to improve their livelihood and contribute towards the credit scheme,” she said.
Muyenga said her organisation was aware how risky the agriculture sector was but indicated that it was worth investing in the sector.
“We are not only dealing with individual farmers under this credit scheme but we have also involved their leaders and farmers have been trained on how to handle and avoid risks on their farm, we shall also monitor the developments and officer necessary extension expertise for this programme to yield positive results,” said Muyenga.
And during the official launch of agriculture inputs distribution at Zambia College of Agriculture (ZCA) in Monze, agriculture minister Dr Brian Chituwo said it was not possible for government alone to reach the over 1.2 million farmers across the country due to resource constraints.
Dr Chituwo said the government initiated the FSP to improve access of small-scale farmers to inputs on matching grants basis, adding that the private sector was encouraged to actively partner in supplying inputs to farmers.
“As government will not always meet the national requirement hence our resolve to support this initiative. It is therefore encouraging and indeed commendable to see such programmes which are not only farmer-driven but also offer long-term solutions to input distributions,” said Chituwo.
And National Association for Peasant Farmers of Zambia president Rodgers Phiri said the K80 billion empowerment would bring about food security, increased income and improved standard of living among the rural populations.
Phiri said his organisation would soon introduce rural banking as a way of empowering people in rural areas.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, AGRICULTURE, BRIAN CHITUWO, IRENE MUYENGA, MONZE, RODGERS PHIRI, ZAMBIA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, ZSIC
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Access Bank shareholders dismiss recent Africa rating
Written by Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and Nchima Nchito Jr
Friday, July 17, 2009 5:10:03 AM
SHAREHOLDERS of Access Bank Group, one of Nigeria's 24 commercial banks have described the recent rating by a foreign firm of financial institutions in Africa's most populous country as not reflecting the true position of the sector.
Chairman of the South-west zone of shareholders of Access Bank Aderemi Oyepeju said during the 20th Annual General Meeting that the rating was sending a wrong signal to international investors. Oyepeju urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to take appropriate steps to set the records straight.
"I condemned on behalf of Nigerian shareholders that rating done by the foreign firm totally. It does not in any way reflect the position of things. Looking at the records of most financial institutions, most banks are making steady progress in spite of the current global financial meltdown,'' he said.
Another shareholder Sunny Nwosu said: "The rating is nothing but pure de-marketing, giving the fact that many of Nigerian banks of recent have expanded their branches offshore, declaring dividends while profit earning per share is also on the upswing."
In a recent report, a foreign firm that was not immediately mentioned classified most Nigerian banks as weak, with only four described as ‘fairly strong’.
The report has created ripples in the banking sector and triggered panic withdrawals by some account holders.
Meanwhile, Access Bank UK limited has emerged winner of the Treasury Today Adam Smith award for best Practice and Innovation.
According to a press release, the award was to recognize outstanding achievement in solutions that have been implemented within the Corporate Treasury environment.
"We are delighted to have won such a prestigious award against such strong competition. It is especially pleasing given that we are in the relatively early stages of our development and it is a real acknowledgment of the hard work and effort that has gone in so far to enable us to offer a broad range of products and personal service to our clients," said Jamie Simmonds, chief executive officer of Access Bank UK Limited.
Labels: ACCESS BANK
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Access Bank records 43% profit increase
Written by Mutale Kapekele
Monday, June 22, 2009 3:58:57 PM
ACCESS Bank has recorded a 43 per cent increase in net profit for the 2008-2009 financial year, chief executive officer Aigbije Aig-Imoukhuede has disclosed.
And Access Bank Zambia managing director David Chewe has disclosed that the bank has partnered with the National Association for Peasant and Small-Scale Farmers of Zambia (NAPSSZ) to manage a fertilizer support program for farmers.
In a statement released on Friday, Aig-Imoukhuede announced a net profit of K882.7 billion ($157.7 million) as of March 31, 2009 compared to K617.3 billion ($110.3 million) for the prior financial year which represented a 43 percent increase.
He also announced an increase of 81 per cent in gross profits and a 60 per cent increase in loans and advances given out.
He attributed the increase in the bank’s profits to accurate forecast of the global financial uncertainty whose effects have been felt in Africa since mid 2008.
“Through this prolonged period of global uncertainty, only those banks which accurately forecast the changing environment and adapt to the realities of the time will continue to prosper. I am especially proud to report these excellent results achieved across all our business lines and in the face of extremely challenging market conditions,” stated Aig-Imoukhuede.
And Chewe said the government-supported fertiliser support programme (FSP) was unpredictable leading to the partnership between his bank and NAPSSZ to come up with a sustainable programme.
“As a bank, we have partnered with NAPSSZ to come up with a sustainable farming inputs program. Omnia are also on board and we hope that this ambitious program will bring long term benefits to the farmers and the nation as a whole.”
And Chewe has said the coming of Eco Bank to Zambia was an indication that the country had so much potential which citizens did not seem to see.
“We are sitting on the gem called Zambia that is why there is so much interest in the country by West African investors like Eco Bank whose origins are in Togo,” he said. “It is just sad that as Zambians we don’t want to see that we have so much wealth and potential and use it accordingly.”
Labels: ACCESS BANK, DAVID CHEWE
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Access Bank opens doors to public
By Kabanda Chulu
Friday September 26, 2008 [04:00]
ACCESS Bank Zambia chairman Caleb Mulenga has said the institution will soon become the anchor of the Zambian economy through provision of affordable financial packages. And Bank of Zambia governor Dr Caleb Fundanga (right) has expressed optimism that competition and provision of financial services would be enhanced with new entrants in the banking sector.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Rupiah Banda has said the opening of the bank demonstrates the confidence that African entrepreneurs have in the stability of the Zambian economy. During the launch of the 14th bank in Zambia since 1999 on Wednesday, Mulenga said the opening of the bank was a show of commitment that it would permanently stay in Zambia.
“Our promise is to become an anchor of the Zambian economic growth through establishing partnerships and provision of financial packages at affordable rates so that eventually, we become a catalyst of regional economic development,” said Mulenga.
And Access Bank Group deputy managing director Herbert Wigwe said the bank was aiming at creating a Pan-African entity and would soon launch credit cards on the Zambian market that could be used anywhere in the world.
During the same occasion, commerce minister Felix Mutati said the coming of Access Bank was a clear demonstration of strengthening African businesses.
Mutati said Zambia would now place emphasis on attracting African entrepreneurs as focal points for investments and development.
Dr Fundanga said the need for provision of affordable banking services could not be over emphasised.
“We are happy that Access Bank is investing in Zambia in the pan-Africanism context, which is a demonstration of south-to-south cooperation,” said Dr Fundanga.
And officially opening Access Bank, Vice-President Banda said the bank’s presence in Zambia attests to the receptiveness of the Zambian economy towards foreign investors.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, CALEB MULENGA, FINANCING, RUPIAH BANDA
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Access Bank launches Lusaka branch
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thursday September 25, 2008 [04:00]
ACCCESS Bank Group has observed that most international banks operating in Africa have failed to contribute to the growth of individual countries. Speaking when the bank paid a courtesy call on Vice-President Rupiah Banda on Tuesday, deputy managing director Herbert Wigwe said the Nigerian, bank would also use the Zambian branch to expand into the region. Wigwe also said although Access Group Plc made initial contacts with late president Mwanawasa, the bank stood ready to work under a new leadership.
“Whatever is required to support the real sector of the country, we are ready to do it,” said Wigwe. “In the past, most of the foreign institutions never provided any support to the real sector of the countries in which they worked, and all they tried to do was basically to make profit and move out. And they came in the guise of country limits, political risk. For us, we are Africans despite the different culture.”
Access Group Plc yesterday officially opened its branch in Lusaka which will operate as an independent entity called Access Bank Zambia Limited.
Access Bank Group, which has equity of over US$1.4 billion and plans to spend about US$200 million for African expansion programmes, was given a banking licence by the Central Bank at the beginning of the second quarter this year.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, LUSAKA
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Fundanga assures nation over Access Bank
By Joan Chirwa
Thursday July 24, 2008 [04:00]
BANK of Zambia governor Dr Caleb Fundanga has assured the nation that the Central Bank took necessary steps before issuing a licence to Access Bank of Nigeria. And Nigerian High Commissioner to Zambia and Malawi Folake Marcus-Bello said Zambia remains one of the most organised and stringent countries in Africa in terms of licensing, a guarantee that only genuine businesses are allowed entry on to the market.
Dr Fundanga said the process of licensing a bank was a rigorous one, with the objective of ensuring that a stable financial system is maintained as a precondition for economic development.
He was commenting on media reports in Nigeria that 22 Nigerian banks are currently under probe on allegations of fraud.
“The process of licensing a bank is a rigorous one which involves a detailed assessment of an applicant to, in as far as possible, determine whether or not the applicant is fit to be granted a banking licence,” Dr Fundanga said. “The stability of a financial system is dependant upon, amongst a number of factors, the integrity of the market players.
The Bank of Zambia therefore applies internationally accepted practices and criteria in establishing the “fitness and propriety” of each applicant before allowing them entry into the financial system through the issuance of a licence.”
Dr Fundanga said although the current assessment system may not provide an absolute guarantee, it gives reassurance that necessary diligence had been exercised by the licensing authority.
The Central Bank recently licensed Access Bank of Nigeria, which is expected to begin operations before the end of this month.
But Patriotic Front president Michael Sata recently said the government should exercise serious caution when licensing banks in order to safeguard the country’s economy.
Sata said there was no need for the government to bring other banks like Access of Nigeria because the existing banks had already created healthy competition in the banking industry.
But the application by Access Bank, according to Dr Fundanga, was duly subjected to the aforesaid fit and proper review.
Dr Fundanga said banks are expected to operate within the provisions of the existing banking laws, including the BoZ’s Corporate Governance Guidelines once granted an operating license.
“Failure to comply with any banking laws is liable to attract supervisory action from the Bank of Zambia. The supervisory action will be commensurate to the supervisory breach and may include the removal of management where it is deemed necessary. A case in point was The United Bank of Zambia whose management was removed after they were found to have been engaging in unsafe and unsound banking practices,” said Dr Fundanga.
And High Commissioner Bello said Access Bank underwent several security and economic checks before it was granted an operating license by BoZ.
“The population of Zambia may be small but the country still remains one of the most organised countries. I’m regularly briefed on what Access went through to secure a license. The same security checks were applied to the application by Dangote Group of Companies which will establish a cement manufacturing plant here,” said High Commissioner Bello in an interview.
And on Sata’s recent comments regarding Nigerian banks, High Commissioner Bello said the Nigerian government would ask the opposition leader to offer a public apology at an appropriate time.
“His statement does not only affect Nigeria but because it was not well thought out, he rubbished the entire government of Zambia as well,” High Commissioner Bello said. “Such leaders have a tendency to discourage investors that are willing and able to come. Africa is for Africans, and Africans must therefore develop Africa.”
On media reports in Nigeria that 22 Nigerian banks are currently under probe on allegations of fraud, High Commissioner Bello said she coulzd not comment on the matter, saying it was an “internal problem.”
She said the Nigerian banking industry was one of the highly rated in Africa as most banks provided certain services that some international banks did not offer.
The Saturday Sun, a Nigerian publication, recently reported on how some banks in that country allegedly rip off customers and submit conflicting audited reports to different regulatory authorities.
The Saturday Sun quotes forensic accountant Adeyemo Olukoya, who said the 22 indicted Nigerian banks, had perfected a creative means of charging interest on credit facilities over and above the agreed interest rates between the lending bank and its borrowing customer.
The paper cites an example where if the agreed interest rate is 18 per cent per annum, the lending bank, exploiting the financial gullibility of the borrowing customer, may decide to charge 40 per cent per annum.
It is alleged the banks engage in sharp practices by illegally charging commission on turnover (COT) on returned cheques, transfers to other accounts belonging to the same customer and bank generated charges, all with a view to inflating the COT income accruable to a bank. COT is based on valid bank withdraws. The newspaper report indicates that Nigerian banks are nonetheless creating spurious and irrecoverable debts, through their illegal incomes being earned.
“Unfortunately, nearly every bank in Nigeria is deeply involved in this unholy action. So far, we have indicted over 22 banks in Nigeria for this illegal excess bank charges offence.
It is not that the remaining banks are clean; it is just that they are yet to be reported to us,” said Olukoya as quoted by the Saturday Sun. “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) cannot be divorced from the “rot” in the banking industry since they were supervisors of the banks.”
Labels: ACCESS BANK, CALEB FUNDANGA
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Ratio of loans to GDP too low for growth, says Wigwe
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and Joan Chirwa
Wednesday May 21, 2008 [04:00]
ACCESS Bank Zambia Limited has observed that the ratio of loans to gross domestic product (GDP) in most African countries is too low to support the continent's growth in entrepreneurship. During the dinner hosted on Monday evening to celebrate the granting of a banking licence by Bank of Zambia (BoZ), Access Bank Zambia deputy managing director Herbert Wigwe also said the bank would strive to ensure that it achieved total market dominance in the domestic market.
"Except South Africa, in all African countries the ratio of loans to the GDP is anything between 20 to 39 per cent. This is a big shame," Wigwe said. "And with this situation, you find that you can't create local entrepreneurs in the country because people are not willing to lend them any money."
He also deplored the practice of some multinational financial institutions, which he said tended to lend to governments through government securities at the expense of local entrepreneurs.
"Because of those practices you have, the banks just banking all their money and putting them into treasury bills...now if you have a lot of international institutions that don't have your interests at heart and are extractive in nature, what you tend to find is that kind of phenomenon. It's one of the things we have to move away from if we have to ensure that we have several more entrepreneurs growing, people who are supporting the real sector and therefore leading to significant economic growth of the country."
Wigwe also observed that the banking industry on the continent was too shallow and that it did not have enough capital to support growth in real sector growth.
"So, the level of financial inclusions is so thin that the size of the informal economy is much larger than the formal economy and the primary reason is that you have banks that don't have enough capital and therefore their capacity to support growth of the real sector is so limited," said Wigwe.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, BOZ, GDP, LOANS
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Nigeria's Access Bank to open branch in Zambia
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Friday May 09, 2008 [04:00]
ACCESS Bank of Nigeria will soon establish a branch in Zambia and the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) is currently scrutinising its application for an operating licence. BOZ governor Dr Caleb Fundanga and Zambia Development Agency communications manager Margaret Chimanse confirmed the development in separate interviews. Dr Fundanga expressed optimism that the Nigerian premier bank would soon be granted an operating licence.
“They come from a highly supervised economy and I have no doubt that their application to establish a branch here will be successful,” Dr Fundanga said.
“At this stage, I can confirm that they have made an application to the Bank of Zambia and I remain optimistic that their licence will be granted.
The central bank governor of Nigeria (Charles Soludo) has done exceptionally well to ensure that all banks operating in Nigeria adhere to the most stringent rules for corporate governance, good banking rules and banking ethics…So I have no doubt the application will be favourably considered,” he said.
Dr Fundanga said the coming of Access Bank to the local economy would enhance contribution of the banking sector to the local sector as it would increase competition. Currently Zambia has 13 commercial banks operating.
Early this year, Access Bank managing director, Aiboje Aig-Imoukhuede announced that the Nigerian giant bank would soon open branches in Zambia, Congo, Cote-d’Ivoire and other African countries as part of its aggressive Pan-African expansion vision.
Aig-Imoukhuede also announced that Access Bank would soon open its London branch this year in an attempt to be a reference point for African banks operating in the global market.
He said that the bank’s target was to be one of the top five banks out of Africa that would compete favourably with HSBC, one of the world’s largest commercial banks.
Labels: ACCESS BANK, BANKING, BOZ, NIGERIA
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