Business

Wema Bank Announces Grand Event for International Women’s Day 2026 on March 4

Published

5 months ago

February 19, 2026

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Wema Bank, Nigeria’s oldest indigenous financial institution and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced it will host its highly anticipated 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD) Grand Event on Tuesday, March 4, 2026.

The event, described by the bank as the industry’s biggest celebration of its kind, aligns with the global IWD 2026 theme “Give To Gain.” Wema Bank has adopted the sub-theme “When Women Gain, We Grow,” emphasizing the transformative impact of supporting and investing in women across personal, professional, and societal levels.

According to Managing Director/CEO Moruf Oseni, the initiative underscores the bank’s long-standing commitment to women’s empowerment and gender inclusion, in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Through its women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema (launched in 2019), the institution has consistently championed programs like SARA Gives and the Big Sister Graduation Challenge to uplift women at every stage.

The March 4 event is expected to feature keynote addresses, fireside chats, panel discussions, networking sessions, and opportunities to convene top women leaders from diverse industries alongside everyday women navigating their paths to success.

It aims to foster actionable conversations on empowerment, leadership, and collective growth.

Registration is now open via the official portal at wemabank.com/iwd, with the bank encouraging early participation to secure spots.

This announcement builds on Wema Bank’s history of impactful IWD celebrations and reinforces its dedication to promoting gender equality and women’s advancement in Nigeria and beyond.

Further details on the venue, speakers, and full agenda are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Business

Cardoso Urges Banks To Lend Out Idle Funds With CBN * Retains MPR at 26.5%

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

Published

1 hour ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

8 Views

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso , urged banks from keeping idle funds with the apex bank and encouraging increased lending into the economy.

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

The apex bank retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as benchmark interest rate, at 26. 5 percent.

This decision marks the second consecutive retention of the MPR at 26.5 per cent, following a 50-basis-point reduction in February from 27 per cent.

“The committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stand follows a thorough assessment of the balance of risk,” said Cardoso.

He emphasised that although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East.

The MPC also adjusted the asymmetric facilities corridor around the MPR to +50/-450 basis points—a move aimed at discouraging banks from keeping idle fund with CBN.

Furthermore, the committee maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks at 45 per cent, retained the rate for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and kept the CRR on non-TSA public-sector deposits at 75 per cent for liquidity management considerations.

Cardoso said despite the global uncertainties, the Nigerian economy has “remained largely resilient to the external shocks”.

Business

CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency

Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Published

10 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

18 Views

File photo : PFIPC agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi

The Central Bank of Nigeria had admitted that it opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The apex bank made the confirmation, yesterday, during the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

He explained that on July 30, 2025, CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General.

“We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.

He explained the CBN’s verification process, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.

The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.

Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.