Business
We’re Committed to Supporting Annual Ake Festival – Sterling Bank
Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading financial institution, has said it is committed to supporting the annual Ake Books and Arts Festival because it sees Nigeria as part of a larger world and believes that Nigeria’s ultimate competitiveness lies in its energy.
Executive Director at Sterling, Yemi Odubiyi, who disclosed this over the weekend in a goodwill message at the opening of the 10th edition of the Ake Books and Arts Festival said Nigeria can become a leader in the world and its creative people as part of its competitiveness.
Odubiyi continued by saying that “Nigeria enjoys a comparative advantage in the arts and culture domain, and Sterling, being focused on promoting the development of human capital and improving national competitiveness, is thrilled to have been a part of the festival for the past six years and plans to continue to do so.”
Also speaking, Founder and Director of Ake Books and Arts Festival, Lola Shoneyin said, “I’m often amused when people say they can’t believe how long we’ve been doing this. I believe it has been 10 years. It has been 10 years of bringing brainwaves to life, 10 years of learning, 10 years of celebrating the incredible work that so many of you have done and are still doing and 10 years of making lifelong friends.”
She said ‘Homecoming’ was chosen as the theme of this year’s festival because, “We were going back to Abeokuta where it all began, and it was time to reconnect with our ancestral roots. The main reason ‘Homecoming’ was so perfect is that we couldn’t wait to have you back at Ake after the COVID-19 pandemic”.
She said, after two years of lockdown and online festivals, the festival is back again as participants can mingle, catch up on news and strengthen their friendships. Adding that this moment, this feeling, is what has kept them going.
The Founder said the priority has always been to ensure that guests feel at home since the very first edition of the Ake Festival. Consequently, during this year’s edition of Ake Review, guests were asked to express what home means to them, and the common responses were: A place of love; friendship and a sense of belonging, she said.
Shoneyin thanked the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature, Professor Abdulrazaq Gurnah and his wife, Professor Denise Gurnah for honoring the invitation to attend the festival in person. She also thanked the headliner of this year’s festival, Professor Veronique Tadjo, for finding time to be a part of the festival.
Other highlights of this year’s festival include the hosting of Directors of the Global Association of Literary Festivals while many of the panel sessions explored different aspects of the theme.
Some of the sessions focused on why home exerts a pull on us, stirs our creative impulses, influences our creative expressions, evokes profound sentiments, and shapes our perception of the outside world.
Others explored the impact of conflict, capitalism, and climate disasters as well as what it means to be displaced, to live away from home and, of course, to return. The festival also featured book discussions on the idea of a home and how for some people, the home might not be a place of safety, but a place of violence, among others.
Sterling Bank, on Wednesday, announced the removal of account maintenance fees on all personal accounts, describing the decision as a “gift” to Nigerians in celebration of the country’s 65th Independence Day.
The decision, which follows the abolition of transfer fees on local online transactions in April 2025, was outlined in a statement shared by the bank. The bank said the policy would allow customers to keep more of their earnings, framing it as a step toward financial freedom.
“Every fee we remove is one less barrier between our customers and true financial freedom. This was the rationale behind eliminating transfer fees in April, and it is the same principle we uphold as we eliminate account maintenance fees,” Sterling Bank’s Managing Director, Abubakar Suleiman, said.
The statement highlighted that in 2024 alone, tier-1 banks in Nigeria earned over ₦650 billion from account maintenance and e-banking charges. “This decision cuts at the heart of a revenue model that has long cost Nigerian customers dearly,” the bank noted.
Obinna Ukachukwu, Sterling’s Growth Executive for Consumer and Business Banking, said the initiative was intended to strengthen long-term relationships with customers. “This initiative is about building lasting relationships that fuel sustainable growth. We put transparency and customer value first, and in doing so, we are building a foundation that serves both our customers and Sterling’s future,” he said.
Sterling Bank also framed the removal of fees as part of a broader strategy to make banking more inclusive and customer-focused. The April 2025 transfer fee abolition had already eliminated charges on all local online transactions, easing costs for individuals and small businesses. At the time, Ukachukwu described the move as a values-driven decision aimed at ensuring fair access to money.
“Access to your own money shouldn’t come with a penalty. This is more than a financial decision—it’s about redefining banking to put customers first,” Ukachukwu said.
The latest move aligns with Sterling’s positioning as a bank committed to transparency, customer value, and digital innovation, and it signals a continued effort to reshape banking practices in Nigeria.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has reported a profit before tax of N600.9 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2025.
The figure is contained in the company’s audited consolidated and separate financial statements, which were released to the Nigerian Exchange Group and the London Stock Exchange.
The group stated that the performance was driven by growth in core earnings lines, including interest income and fee income, which rose year-on-year by 31.5% and 33.0%, respectively.
It explained that the growth helped to cushion the absence of N493.01 billion in fair value gains recorded in 2024, resulting in a 40 per cent decline.
GTCO stated that its total assets stood at N16.7 trillion, while shareholders’ funds totaled N3.0 trillion during the review period.
It added that its balance sheet remained strong, diversified, and de-risked across operating jurisdictions, as well as its payments, pension, and funds management businesses.
The group disclosed that its Capital Adequacy Ratio closed at 36.2 per cent, while asset quality improved with IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans declining to 3.2 per cent.
At the group level, Stage 3 loans stood at 4.5 per cent, compared with 5.2 per cent in December 2024.
Similarly, the cost of risk improved to 1.7 per cent from 4.9 per cent recorded in December 2024.
The company stated that its net loan book increased by 20.5 per cent, from N2.79 trillion in December 2024 to N3.36 trillion in June 2025.
Deposit liabilities also increased by 16.6 per cent from N10.40 trillion to N12.13 trillion during the same period.
The board of GTCO approved an interim dividend of N1.00 per share for the half year ended June 30, 2025.
Commenting on the results, Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer, said the half-year performance reflected business strength and progress towards building a diversified financial services ecosystem.
He said beyond last year’s extraordinary one-off gains, the group was now driving sustainable growth with recurring earnings that demonstrated the resilience and scalability of its model.
Mr Agbaje noted that continued investment in technology, particularly in core banking upgrades, was delivering stronger uptime, efficiency, and greater capacity to scale with a growing customer base.
He added that across banking, funds management, pension, and payments, GTCO was leveraging a de-risked balance sheet to reinforce its market position while maintaining strategic flexibility. According to him, this foundation positions the group to seize emerging opportunities and deliver lasting value for all stakeholders.
Mr Agbaje stressed that GTCO had continued to post some of the best metrics in Nigeria’s financial services industry in terms of key financial ratios. He said the group recorded Pre-Tax Return on Equity of 60.4 per cent, Pre-Tax Return on Assets of 10.6 per cent, Capital Adequacy Ratio of 36.2 per cent, and Cost-to-Income ratio of 30.1 per cent.
NAN
In line with its commitments of promoting sports and developmental initiatives at all levels, First Bank of Nigeria Limited is partnering the organizers of the first of its kind E1 Lagos GP an all-electric powerboat racing championship, set to hold between the 3rd and 5th of October 2025.
Disclosing this at the E1 Lagos GP Stakeholder Immersion session in Lagos recently, Olayinka Ijabiyi, the Acting Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communication of FirstBank, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting initiatives that engender human development across the country while cementing legacies.
“Our involvement in the E1 Lagos GP is about driving legacy and enabling the passions and aspirations that unite Nigerians. We are a bank that has been in business for over 131 years and we recognize that sports drives us as a country, which is why through our First@Sports initiative, we continue to invest in platforms that inspire and elevate our people. We have been supporting legacy sport tournaments like the Georgian Polo Cup which we have hosted for 105 years, and the Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championship for 64 years now,” Ijabiyi said.
With the event slated for the start of the fourth quarter, FirstBank is aligning its partnership with the annual DecemberIssaVybe initiative, a campaign that celebrates the vibrant spirit of Nigerians during the festive season by curating unforgettable experiences that blend culture, entertainment and lifestyle. “FirstBank is deeply woven into the fabric of society and the lives of our customers. As presenting partner, we are creating meaningful touchpoints with customers and prospects, offering them a world-class experience of relaxation and celebration that captures the true essence of Lagos during the festive season,” he added.
Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, who was also at the event, described the initiative as an event that will grow not just the sports but also showcase Lagos’s vibrant culture, dynamic people, and global relevance, while commending FirstBank for their support.
The teams owned by notable stars like Tom Brady, LeBron James, Didier Drogba, Will Smith, Marc Anthony, Steve Aoki, Rafael Nadal will compete in the Lagos leg before the 2025 season of the competition terminates in Miami in the United States.
