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Nigerian Tribune
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Monda", 29 August. 2011
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banks
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ITH a view 10 chi' C kin g volatility in the nation's fomgn exchan~ (FORE.'<) nUI~I, Central Bank DC Nigma (CBN) has concluded pl;'lr.s to in;et:t 510 million int ~rvenlion fund Into the Eiureau De o.ange (BOC) f~t of the market. Under the arran8ement, the "pex bank ill 10 sell the 510
to the BOCs. Nigerian Tribune gathered th.t the C8N special lorex special fund Is targeted at reducing dmumd on the interbank n.. rket and ensurut-tN11ty III the market. Unconfirmed sourct' named the (lve banb as First Bank of Njzeria PIc, FimOtyMonwnentBank. United 8ank for Africa, Keystone Bank and
banb are expected to RiJ dirKtly to 8DCs at the CON's foreign exchange oWei.1 rate with a commission of 50 kobo
II would be reC'illled that the apex bank recently increased the tolal amount It sold 10 BoCs weekly. from
slow down foru speculation in the system and strengthened the local curttncy. The CON intrrvmlion
onlhelocalcurrmcy_the naira strengl~ aJillnsl dollar II both Interbank m.rket and DOC segment of the forex market.
Ecobank rewards salary ;:1comnt holders
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COBANI : has rt-wllrded a total of 3 1 winners from differe',! geopo litic.,1 zon~ u( Ihe nation that t!merged from last week', the first ewr !:roBan k Mlary .lccouni promo draws held in
Lagos. The winnft!! who all won a bnmd 1~ Black Beny phones, with the star prize winner of a brand new car, emerged at the live draw held ilt lIupeju branch of the bank , witne5sd by many dignitaries, Including officiAls (rom r~sumer Prolection Council (CPC), the NaUon,,1 Lottery Regulatory Commission based In Abuja, and the Lagos State toHery Board (LSLB), who were physically present to authenticate due proa!H In th~ draws and 10 ensure that promises made ·durin8 the draw campillSns were fuIRlled. Speaking: at !hebank's draws, E:CKUlive DI·ector, Domestic oit'lldng, Ecobank Nigeria Pic. Mr KinSSley Mgboi<haevbo. ..Id ..... the euence of the promo was to encourage a savings culture among custom en, such that t:.;'Y can systemaHally plan and set cut aside funds foc their short term and long lem. capital projects. He noted that since the scheme ~ .me on board a few manths ago, the rupo~ had been c::-.;oouragins zs many CU!.lomers keep a bigger
percentage of their salaries untouchetl till lhe followins month end. He expblined thai the benefits of Ihe salary account were multiple such M , access to cu loans. marl gages and personal loans aside other instant gifts such 115 It stylish umb~11a., key holders and other gifts. The .star prize. a brand new KIA SOUL was won by Mr Nyong Uyouko Efiok of EcoBank, Eket branch, Akwa Ibom state wilh winning ticket number 19167 Winners of Black berry phones in the dnw of the bank Indude . Nwandu lbeabueke and Awotunde Esther. representins LaSOl area and Joshua Chollom, Abba Abdulkadlr, rqnaenlinS Ahuja zone. Dagogo N80 and Amachree Aaild were both lucky winneTs from Port Harcourt. while Eke Godwin and Obodo Abraham both emetgftl winners from Wartl branch. Asbor Ogbile, Peter Ibloro and Okon Mary Magdalene .n emerged wlnnel'1 from the East,
amongst others _ Speaking after the drawlII, Mrs Adejumoke Ajayi , Head. liability Product. , EcoBank Bank. said the bank had df!dded to extend the promo till 2S October 2011 to slve loyal customers who now believe In the exercise the opportunity to partake in the soodwHl of the bank.
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CEANIC Bank has SO far disburHd N40 billion a" loaM to agricultural InstiluUOM and the enlire value chain with a view to boosting food supply nationwide. Addresslns newsmen "' Lop loot wool<. ....... Apu AUIed and Expott, Oceanic international Bank, EyHayo Quadri, said apart (rom the lUnd which wa. dlsbuned from 2006lOdate. thf!~k had also set aside N20 billion 10 loan to fannen
dUo y<M. Quadri noted that the move was to enhance agricultural sector which la the mainstay of the economy. add inS that apart from employinS about 70 per cent Nigerians. the RCtor also contributed over 40 'Pft" cent to thecountry'sCn. Domestic Product (GOP). He stated thilt the bank
was working with farmers In groups and cooperatives to ensure effective 01 the dbbunoedutiliation _ He lauded Central
Bank of NIg<rl.t (CBN),. ~ iniliadva such •
disburses N40bn NigMan incentive Based Risk Sharing SySlem for Agricultural Lendins (NIASAL) - . . . . ...Iing that it would improve the now of loanable funds from bmk:s to lanner$ and aIao IoWU" inteft51: rain. Quadrl restated Oceanic Bank's c:ommibnent to providing capital 10 the entft value
chain, . Includins mechanisalion, farming. Input, asro-pfOCHSlng and dtstribution. "Right now, w. are looklns for the dght agriculture institUtions oc farmers we nn finance with our funds and funds thai hAVe been made avaUable by the CBN. What We are dolns for small farmers ill that we have products for state sovemrnenta that an! willing to lend to small cooperatives and small fatmen in their states.. We require that the state
governments pul "' pIoce
an agency or any mechanism thai we can rnonillOr the adivfties of the cooperatives," he J&Ilid. He explained that the renewed interest on agricultunl Fundlns wu
informed by the rommltment and support of the r.dreraI govemmrnt through Ihe apex bank (eRN) and Ministry of Agri<uIIwo 10 _ !he .ector financing to enhancf! sustainable eamomlcgrowth. "In the past, agricultllM firwKin8 was a problem. l'heft was ~ challense of a meeting point between financien and the fanners . They didn' t undentand each other. The financial playen didn't undentand how agrlc work so they didn't want to put in money. In fact. most of the bad loans in the p •• t were on agriculture so people that got their fingers burnt became WpIi<al Agri< ~ a bit ledutical. with hish risk. The conditions in doing agric IInanee is setti"I dearft, the CON is putting SUaranlees. putting counterpart funding in place and makinI the security less than what it uaed to be" so flnanders are willing 10 invest." he said. Acmrding 10 him. the
bani< "' portnonhlp with
Tractors Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN) has acqUired 27 Iraclors to lease to fumers in lCaduna, adding that lhe banks had concluded .rraRsement 10 acquire addllioftaJ 1.IDJ tractors 10 disburse to farmen all owr the country. "We are parlnerlng with Mahindra and TAC TI"IIdor5. But we Intend to expand. it. So you don't have to own or even Ieage a tractor .. farmer. All you need is approach tractor owners and rf!nt It for the period you would need it Us rnofe' cost elfedive and ... more value... he.~.
He expWrwd that tt was
high lime !he governmenl diversified the economy. stressing that a situation whore !he """"'Y d<pond deIy on aU and p.s was not the bmt for the economy. "It is high time we .....o.d1o .... enI of groundnut pynunid in the north. cocoa in the South and olhen. We cannot depald on oil and
oIddays.lM
gas-.oUy. W..hould go back to agricultu,.... he
odvloed.