MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017 Ëž T H I S D AY
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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE
IMF Seeks Stronger Collaboration against Terrorism Financing Obinna Chima The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stressed the need for countries to intensify the fight against financing of terrorism as well as corruption and tax evasion. The fund also disclosed that in the coming days, it would release new analysis that shows how systemic corruption can seriously undermine a country’s ability to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth. IMF’s Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, made this call in a speech titled: “Working Together to Fight Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing,� she delivered at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), on Money Laundering Plenary Meeting in Valencia, recently. Lagarde described combating of terrorism financing as a top policy priority, saying that as terrorism becomes more pervasive in our societies, it was our collective responsibility to choke off the financial flows—both large and small—that enable terrorists to inflict unspeakable suffering on individuals, families, and communities. Combating the financing of terrorism increasingly requires harnessing the power of financial technology, she said. She said: “Of course, fintech is a double-edged sword. It can be used to promote and fund terrorism, including through the anonymity of virtual cur-
rencies. But it can also be a powerful tool to strengthen our defenses against the financing of terrorism. “We can use fintech to identify terrorist financial flows, including in the case of very small transactions. Machine learning and other artificial intelligence tools can help identify patterns of activity that would otherwise be very difficult to detect.� She added: “There is no doubt that money laundering and terrorist financing can threaten a country’s economic stability, which is why the IMF has become increasingly active in supporting and promoting the AML/CFT efforts of our member countries, based on the FATF standard. “What started as a small endeavor some 20 years ago has become part of our core work—from analysis and policy advice, to assessing the health and integrity of financial sectors, to providing financial assistance when needed, to helping countries build institutions and increase operational effectiveness.� According to the IMF boss, large-scale tax evasion is a key factor, because it typically means lower government revenue, higher public debt, and less investment in health, education, and other public services. This, she also pointed out means higher economic inequality because the most vulnerable are most affected
by a sharp drop in social spending. That, in turn, can trigger popular discontent and economic instability. “The good news is that we can use the AML/CFT framework to help break this vicious economic cycle. A good example is Greece, where the strengthening of the AML framework facilitated the seizure of hundreds of millions of euros in proceeds from tax crimes. “We helped the central bank strengthen its financial sector supervision, which led to a sharp increase in reporting to the financial intelligence unit. That unit itself froze more than â‚Ź200 million in assets between 2012 and 2014. The financial intelligence unit also referred more than 400 cases to the prosecutor’s office and more than 2,500 cases to the tax authorities. “Both FATF and the IMF are forward-thinking organizations designed to help our members address some of the most pressing global issues of our time. We both are deeply committed to supporting countries in building defenses against money laundering and the financing of terrorism through the AML/CFT standards. We both know that these global challenges cannot be resolved by countries working alone,â€? she said. According to her, over the past 16 years, the IMF has been involved in joint effort through our technical assistance and capacity building work.
Union Bank Unveils Upgraded Branches Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has reiterated its commitment to providing simpler and smarter banking services to its teeming customers with the unveiling of three more upgraded branches across Rivers State. The unveiling ceremonies of the branches located in Bori, Kingsway Road and Aba Road areas of the state were part of a two-day line up of activities which also included a networking and empowerment event for young professionals and entrepreneurs as well as a gala event to host customers in celebration of the bank’s 100th year anniversary. Speaking at the anniversary gala event to customers, stakeholders and government dignitaries, a statement quoted
the Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa as saying: “We are very proud of our 100 year old heritage as this is not a feat easily achieved. We are however also looking forward and preparing for the next 100 years. “At Union Bank, we are very passionate about our customers and we are committed to ensuring they have access to the best banking service possible. This has prompted us to equip our branches with state-of-the-art infrastructure. Our mobile and internet banking applications are also one of the best in the country as we strive to ensure our customers experience service excellence across the country.� Also speaking at the event, Transformation Director, Union
Bank, Joe Mbulu, explained that the overhauling of these branches was as a result of the bank’s firm commitment to ensuring its customers have access to the best and most effective banking solutions. According to him, “We are providing the simpler and smarter way to bank through these improvements. It isn’t just a tagline for us, it is a promise - one which we will continue to keep.� The bank stated that it also launched an Elite Lounge at the Kingsway Road branch in Port Harcourt. The Elite lounge will provide value added banking benefits and a range of personalised banking services to Elite Banking customers of the bank.
DHL Fetes Employees DHL Express at its annual DHL Employee Appreciation Week, an employee engagement initiative held recently, attributed its success in Nigeria to the contribution by members of its workforce across the country. This year, the Africa-wide initiative was run in the month of June in over 50 countries impacting over 4,000 employees. Vice President, Human Resources, DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa, Paul Clegg said while the focus at the event was on fun, it was meant to recognise and reward its team across Africa, who made it possible for the company to deliver excellence to its customers.
He added: “One of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s three bottom lines is to be the ‘Employer of Choice’, so our efforts are focused on creating a great place to work. We believe how we think influences what we say and do and the only way to maintain our ‘Insanely Customer Centric Culture’ is if we have highly motivated, well-trained, emotionally-engaged and happy employees.� In Deloitte’s, 2017 Global Human Capital Trends, it is shown that while employee engagement is increasingly being recognised across the globe as an integral component to business success, relatively few companies have begun to
build programs, strategies and teams that understand and continuously improve employee engagement. On top of recommending taking a proactive role in understanding and improving employee experience in the company, especially those that operate in competitive global economies—like DHL Express—the study also suggests that pushing out these engagement programs and strategies is becoming increasingly vital to business bottom-lines. This is because when companies succeed in attracting and retaining skilled employees, these employees will in turn provide excellent customer experiences.
Lagarde
MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS
(MILLION NAIRA)
DECEMBER 2016 Broad Money (M2)
23,840,392.42
-- Narrow Money (M1)
11,520,166.67
---- Currency Outside Banks
1,820,415.90
---- Demand Deposits
9,699,750.76
-- Quasi Money
12,320,225.75
Net Foreign Assets (NFA)
9,353,504.03
Net Domestic Assets(NDA)
14,486,888.39
-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)
26,970,297.97
---- Credit to Government (Net)
4,595,579.89
---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA
7,436,917.79
---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)
-2,841,337.90
---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)
22,374,718.08
--Other Assets Net
-12,483,409.58
Reserve Money (Base Money)
5,837,322.41
--Currency in Circulation
2,179,174.28
--Banks Reserves
3,318,344.71 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹
MANAGED FUNDS Month
December 2016
Inter-Bank Call Rate
10.39
Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)
14.00
Treasury Bill Rate
13.96
Savings Deposit Rate
4.18
1 Month Deposit Rate
8.53
3 Months Deposit Rate
8.80
6 Months Deposit Rate
10.23
12 Months Deposit Rate
10.76
Prime Lending rate
17.09
Maximum Lending Rate
28.55 Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ
OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 20 JUNE 2017 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $50.48 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $51.88 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna