Banking
Fitch Affirms Sterling Bank at ‘B-‘
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Sterling Bank Plc’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been affirmed by Fitch Ratings at ‘B-‘ as well as its National Long-Term Rating confirmed at ‘BBB-(nga)’ by the agency with the Outlook Stable.
A statement issued by the rating firm explained that Sterling Bank’s IDRs were driven by its standalone creditworthiness as defined by its Viability Rating (VR).
It noted that the VR is constrained by challenging operating conditions in Nigeria, the bank’s modest franchise and developing business model, weaknesses in its financial profile, and its higher risk appetite than peers.
These factors are counterbalanced by Sterling Bank’s coherent strategy, especially its business transformation initiatives, and strong management team.
Sterling Bank’s financial profile is characterised by high credit concentrations, variable earnings and profitability, modest capital buffers based on its risk profile, and its structurally weak funding and liquidity profile.
The lender has high exposure to the oil and gas sector, representing 43.2 percent of gross loans at end-9M17, mainly to mid-sized corporates.
Around 38 percent of the bank’s loans at end-9M17 were in foreign currency, exposing it to currency volatility.
Sterling Bank’s impaired loans ratio (based on IFRS) increased to 3.5% at end-9M17 from 1.7% at end-2016, arising mainly from the troubled oil and gas sector.
Based on prudential requirements (all loans that are 90 days overdue), Sterling Bank’s NPL ratio was 6.1% at end-9M17.
Fitch said it believes that the bank’s asset quality remains highly sensitive to loan concentrations by industry and obligor despite its impaired loans ratio and NPL ratio being below sector averages.
There is inherent instability in Sterling Bank’s funding base and 40% of the bank’s customer deposits are from corporates, which, in our view, are price-sensitive and less stable. These deposits are also predominately short-term, exposing the bank to significant structural asset-liability maturity mismatches. Additionally, the deposit base is highly concentrated, the rating company said.
It added that Sterling Bank is addressing funding and liquidity risks by raising market funding, demonstrating good access to borrowed funds and debt securities issuance.
“Positively, we also note that the bank has successfully attracted more stable retail deposits, including strong growth in ‘non-interest-bearing’ deposits (albeit from a low base). With the rollout of the new strategy and franchise development, we expect structural weaknesses in the customer deposit base to be resolved over time.
“We believe the bank’s capital buffers are low (Fitch Core Capital Ratio of 13.2% at end-9M17), particularly due to its sensitivity to concentration risks,” it said.
Sterling Bank reported a Basel II total capital adequacy ratio of 11.4% at end-9M17, a modest buffer against its regulatory minimum of 10%.
In addition to higher retained earnings and by repositioning its balance sheet, the bank is expected to raise subordinated debt in the domestic market (which counts towards Tier 2 regulatory capital) to improve capital buffers.
“In the medium term, we expect Sterling Bank’s prospects to improve as the franchise strengthens with the expansion of its retail/SME and ‘non-interest-bearing’ lines and business reorganisation,” Fitch disclosed.
Sterling Bank’s National Ratings reflect Fitch’s opinion of its standalone creditworthiness relative to the best credits in the country. The National Long- and Short-Term Ratings of ‘BBB-(nga)’ and ‘F3(nga)’ take into account Sterling Bank’s overall risk profile relative to other Nigerian banks, including its limited franchise and weak financial metrics.
SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR
Fitch believes that sovereign support to Nigerian banks cannot be relied on given Nigeria’s (B+/Negative) weak ability to provide support, particularly in foreign currency. In addition, there are no clear messages from the authorities regarding their willingness to support the banking system. Therefore, the Support Rating Floor of all Nigerian banks is ‘No Floor’ and all Support Ratings are ‘5’. This reflects our view that senior creditors cannot rely on receiving full and timely extraordinary support from the Nigerian sovereign if any of the banks become non-viable.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
IDRS, VIABILITY RATING AND NATIONAL RATINGS
The bank’s IDRs are sensitive to rating action on its VR. This would most likely be triggered by material deterioration in asset quality that would add further pressure to Sterling’s already weak capital position. Any pronounced instability in Sterling’s funding profile could also put negative pressure on the bank’s VR.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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