Access Bank Nigeria has commercial centers in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. It recently added South Africa (Grobank), Kenya (Transnational Bank ) and Zambia (Cavmont Bank) via acquisitions. Within 8 months, the bank added those three banks. I am a fan of Access Bank CEO, Herbert  Wigwe, but when you look at what is happening, you will notice one thing: most Nigerian banks did not see the future a long time ago. Largely, only UBA saw the future and went all the way to create it. Today, UBA operates in at least 20 African countries, outpacing all its peers including GTBank, Zenith Bank, First Bank and of course Access.

With AfCFTA, the trade agreement on the horizon, winning Africa becomes the race, not just Nigeria. Magically, the decision of UBA becomes amazing. Access is working hard to be part of that big picture since a network of banking operations will help it compete against Standard Bank (South Africa) and Ecobank.

I hold Ecobank, UBA, First Bank, Sterling, Fidelity, Unity Bank, and Access –  and indirectly Union Bank. (I used to have Zenith Mutual Fund but exited due to cost.) Provided they pay dividends, I don’t really care if the stocks are appreciating or not. The bank sent alerts on March 29 that I am yet to have time to check the dividend credits – they could be many (see photo). So, I am for these banks.

Looking at what is happening today, UBA might have been the best positioned bank of last decade in Nigeria, when you see how it inserted itself on Africa. So, going into the near future, while the FUGAZ (First, UBA, GTB, Access and Zenith) will continue to do well in Nigeria, the African exposure gives UBA an edge. 

NB: Please see this as part of education, not recommending stocks or de-marketing any bank. If you buy with 15% of your salary these dividend paying banks, within a decade, you would earn more than extra free 3-5 years! They are consistent.

Hello Central Bank of Nigeria, Goldman Sachs is going cryptocurrency. No matter how we see it, crypto is evolving as the payment layer of the internet. Nigeria must not be disconnected from it. I think it is also time for Nigerian banks to send a memo to the apex bank that its policy on this may not be helping the sector. If America’s investment banking institutions are adopting this, why should Nigerian banks be frozen on it? We simply need pragmatic regulations, and not prohibitions on these emerging technologies.

• The bank aims to begin offering investments in the emerging asset class in the second quarter, according to Mary Rich, who was recently named global head of digital assets for Goldman’s private wealth management division.
• Goldman is looking at ultimately offering a “full spectrum” of investments in bitcoin and digital assets, “whether that’s through the physical bitcoin, derivatives or traditional investment vehicles,” she said.
• Some Goldman clients “feel like we’re sitting at the dawn of a new Internet in some ways and are looking for ways to participate in this space,” Rich said.

In February 2021, Nigeria suspended the integration of cryptocurrency exchanges within the Nigeria financial systems. My position mirrors that of the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, who wrote that Nigeria “needs to act with knowledge not fear” in addressing the concerns emanating from blockchain technology. He then  recommended regulation instead of prohibition, noting that blockchain technology has come to stay, and Nigeria will be left behind if it doesn’t follow up despite any risk associated with a new asset class or payment tool.

Nigeria – we are unique. Yes, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a regulatory hammer: all cryptocurrency entities are banned in the Nigerian banking system. So, exchanges, participants, brokers, dealers, crypto-fintechs, etc are banned. Sure, things will get crazier now as these guys will move to the black market as I am sure no CBN rule can stop young people and their cryptocurrencies.

If Nigeria decides that banning foreign coins is the future, then, it needs to consider creating a digital currency which can be easily plugged and connected to the world. But doing nothing should not be acceptable, and the banks could make that point to the apex bank.

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