ALAT by Wema, Africa’s first fully digital bank, is celebrating its sixth anniversary with the launch of “Sounds of ALAT,” a boot camp and creative workshop aimed at supporting young creatives in the entertainment industry in Nigeria.
The event, which will run from May 1 to 5 at Wema Bank, Purple Academy, will equip participants with top-notch industry knowledge and offer an opportunity to win up to N5 million for the creation of the next ALAT jingle.
“Sounds of ALAT” is a co-creation campaign that brings together celebrities, facilitators and judges from various sectors of the entertainment industry, including scriptwriters, producers, recording artists, sound mixers, A&R talent managers and enthusiasts.
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The workshop is part of ALAT’s anniversary activities to give back to society by supporting young creatives and upcoming artistes in the entertainment industry.
To participate and launch your music career with a bang, all you need to do is download ALAT on iOS or Play Store, upload a one-minute video of your “Sounds of ALAT “demo on Instagram, tag @Alat_ng, and use #SoundsofALATEntries and #ALATat6.
Out of the entries received, 50 will be selected for the boot camp and the top 10 will receive adequate training from proficient judges who are celebrities with experience and proven track record in the creative industry.
The top three participants will present their jingle material for the cash prize of N3 million for the winner, N2 million for the first runner-up and N1 million for the second runner-up, along with various consolation prizes and branded merchandise.
The Head of Brand and Marketing Communications, Mabel Adeteye, said, “We are excited to support young creatives in the entertainment industry through “Sounds of ALAT.” The workshop will provide a platform for participants to acquire industry knowledge and showcase their talent. We encourage interested persons to visit our website or follow @alat.ng on all social media channels for more information.”
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Fidelity Bank announces private placement of 3.037bn ordinary shares
Fidelity Bank Plc has announced a private placement of 3,037, 414,308 ordinary shares of 50k at N4.60 per share, which opened on Wednesday, February 22 and closed on Thursday, February 23, 2023.
Two applications were received for a total of 3,037,414,308 ordinary shares in connection with the private placement.
The two applications were found to be valid, accepted and processed. All applications were received within the offer period of Wednesday, February 22 and Thursday, February 23, 2023.
The private placement by the two applications received a 100 percent subscription. In terms of the breakdown of the allotment, the first applicant got the 287,414,308 shares applied for at 100 percent, while the second applicant got the 2,750,000,000 shares applied for also at 100 percent.
The Securities & Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) has cleared the basis of the allotment stated above as well as the announcement.
CSCS accounts of successful allottees will be credited with shares allotted not later than Friday, May 5, 2023, by the Registrars to Fidelity Bank Plc, First Registrars & Investor Services Limited.
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Liquidity crunch pushes banks’ borrowing from CBN to N240.57bn in four months
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has showed that deposit money banks’ (DMBs) borrowing from the Central Bank’s Standing Lending Facility (SLF) increased to N240.57 billion on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 from N78.95 billion as of December 12, 2022, when new naira notes were launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The commercial banks’ borrowings from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) surged by 204.71 percent in four months, signalling that they faced a liquidity squeeze in the period as the country’s demonetisation drive triggered chronic cash shortages.
When compared with the figure in October 2022 when the naira redesign programme was announced, the banks’ borrowing from the SLF rose by 7.95 percent from N222.85 billion.
Standing facilities (lending and deposit) are instruments of liquidity management, according to the CBN. They serve as avenues to invest surplus funds overnight and to square up whenever the system is short at the end of each business day.
On October 26, 2022, the apex bank announced that the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes would be redesigned and introduced into the economy from December 15, 2022 while commercial banks were directed to return existing denominations to the CBN.
Data obtained from the CBN’s website revealed that the prime lending rate, which is the interest rate that banks charge their most creditworthy customers, increased to 13.62 percent year-on-year in February 2023 from 13.17 percent in February 2022.
The maximum lending rate, which is the average highest amount charged by banks for lending to riskier sectors, rose to 28.75 percent from 28.14 percent.
The CBN has raised its benchmark interest rate, also known as the monetary policy rate (MPR), to 18 percent from 11.5 percent in May 2022.
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Pension funds investment in banks reduced to N1.6trn by PFAs
The Pension Funds Administrators has reduced the funds under the Contributory Pension Scheme that was invested in fixed deposits and bank acceptances to N1.6 trillion in February.
This was as the total funds under the scheme hit N15.49 trillion in the period under review, according to the National Pension Commission.
PenCom disclosed this in its unaudited report on the pension funds industry portfolio for the period ended February 28, 2023. The data provided information on the approved existing schemes, Closed Pension Fund Administrators, and Retirement Savings Funds (including unremitted contributions at the Central Bank of Nigeria and legacy funds).
At the end of December 2022, the PFAs had invested N1.94 trillion in fixed deposits and bank acceptance. The commission had, in its amended investment regulation, highlighted the requirements for investing the funds in line with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act of 2014.
It said the purpose of the regulation was to provide uniform rules and standards for the investment of pension fund assets. According to the regulation, pension fund custodians must only take written instructions from licensed PFAs with respect to the PFAs’ investment and management of pension fund assets held in the custody of the PFCs on behalf of the contributors.
