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RBS Compliance: Mutual Benefit to Increase Authorised Capital to N20bn Stories by Ebere Nwoji Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc plans to shore up its authorised capital from the present level of N10 billion to N20billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. The company announced this at its 21st annual general meeting held in Lagos recently. Chairman of the company, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, who disclosed this to the shareholders at the meeting, said it is part of the company’s positive response to the regulator’s Risk Base Supervision initiative. Ogunbiyi informed: “In response to RBS regime, Mutual
Benefits Assurance Plc is set to recapitalise. As a first step to recapitalisation, the company’s authorised share capital was increased from 10,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to 20,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to accommodate the proposed issue of shares, which is planned for the third and fourth quarters of 2017�. Announcing the company’s scorecard during the period, Ogunbiyi said that given the very challenging economic environment during the year, the recorded 17per cent decrease in Gross Premium Written (GPW) of the company was not unexpected.
He however said the decrease in gross written of the company did not cascade to the underwriting profit. “Underwriting profit increased by 16 percent from N3.6 billion in 2015 to N4.2billion in 2016, this is because your management employed better strategies of risk profiling of businesses within its portfolio thereby reducing its reinsurance costs�, the Mutual Benefit Assurance boss stated. According to him, the Mutual Benefit Assurance group reported a loss before tax of N1.1billion in the year from N1.2 billion profit reported in 2015. He explained that the major
contributing factor to this was the depreciation in the value of naira against major currencies. “This resulted in a foreign exchange loss of N1.9billion on the foreign currency denominated borrowings held by your Company. As a result of the diminution in the value of the naira, coupled with the difficult business operating environment in 2016, your Company was unable to achieve the desired returns for dividend declaration,� he explained. He however assured the shareholders of management and board commitment to the growth and success of the company. The Mutual Benefit
Group, during the year under review, grew its total assets by 12percent from N46billion in 2015 to N51billion in 2016, while shareholders’ funds decreased by 8 percent as a result of the impact of the foreign exchange loss. On the future outlook of the company, Ogunbiyi, said that from 2017, the board and management of the company has set the wheels in motion for its repositioning as part of their goal to lead the industry in growth, profitability, innovation, operational efficiencies, and dividend returns with the implementation of a new five-year strategic roadmap tagged;’ Project One Reloaded
Starting from 2017. He said: “To achieve the goals of the project, we will focus on the following key priorities: Deepen market penetration/customer acquisition by aggressively growing our customer base across all segments; embed customer and service delivery excellence by establishing our company as the most customer focused in the industry; transform people and culture by creating the right environment to attract, develop and retain knowledgeable and motivated staff; and drive operational effectiveness by leveraging on disruptive technology and embedding analytics.
OAK Pensions Announces 76.8% Growth in Profit OAK Pensions Limited, one of the licensed Pension Fund Administrator in the country, said in the2016 financial year, it grew its profit by 76.8 per cent from N130.57million in 2015 to N230.88million in 2016. Chairman, OAK Pensions, Dr. Awa Ibraheem, disclosed this in the annual report of the company he presented to stakeholders at the company’s 11th annual general meeting held in Lagos. According to him, the company was committed to generating increased returns on the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) of its contributors, adding, “We made profit this year and we are satisfied with the returns we are generating for our RSA holders which I believe is a product of the service we are rendering. What is important to us is effectiveness in the totality of the services to our stakeholders, � he stated. Ibraheem also said that
OAK Pensions was increasing its accessibility in all parts of the country, adding that in its efforts to take pensions to more Nigerians, the company has established offices in the six geopolitical regions of the country, adding that an individual only needs to call the company’s call center and be attended to. He said in Lagos, Oak Pensions operates two offices likewise in some other parts of the country. The Chairman also disclosed that the company will explore the potential in the micropension scheme when it is officially introduced by the National Pension Commission. “We are more than prepared because we have started doing our background work; we are just waiting for the federal government to launch the scheme. What we do now is that we have a department that is devoted to micro-pension activities.
BUSINESS EXPANSION
L-R: Head of Commercial, Leadway Assurance Company Ltd, Mr. Gboyega Lesi; Divisional Director/Head Life Commercial, Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd, Mr. Adebayo Okuwobi; Executive Director, Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd, Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale; Executive Director, Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi; Head of Business Development, Leadway Pensure PFA, Mr. Osaghae Osarhieme and Head of Human Resources Department, Mrs. Kunbi Adeoti, during the unveiling ceremony of the Leadway Assurance Mobile OďŹƒce in Lagos ...recently kolawole alli
Royal Exchange General Insurance Pays N2.71bn Claims Royal Exchange General Insurance Company, (REGIC), has said it paid out a total of N2.71 billion as claims to its corporate and individual clients at the end of the 2016 financial year. Making this disclosure in Lagos, the Managing Director of REGIC, Mr. Benjamin Agili said his company’s focus is on prompt settlement of genuine insurance claims ,promising that this will continue to be the business philosophy of the company in years ahead. He added the company will continue to support the business community as it strives to increase the manufacturing capacities of industries in the country. According to Agili, “Royal Exchange has once again demonstrated its strength and ability to honour its financial obligations and also protect the interest of its various corporate and individual clients, as there is a conscious effort to have a genuine partnership with the clients based on trust and integrity, core values which was instilled by the founders of the
company and have continued to drive the operations and strategic directions of the company. “For us in Royal Exchange, customer satisfaction is everything. We have an enduring capacity to shoulder our customer’s risk, should they arise and this is further evidence of our financial depth derived from prudent and conservative accounting system, a highly motivated workforce as well as a professionally structured organisation�. Furthermore, he said: “At Royal Exchange, our core values of relationship, trust, and integrity compel us to always seek ways of optimising our processes to ensure that the customer receives immediate benefit for doing business with us�. Giving a breakdown of the various amounts paid in the different insurance classes, Agili said that a total of N1.045 billion was paid on Fire and Industrial All Risk (IAR) insurance policies, representing 38.5 percent of the total amount paid to clients at the end of the year. For Motor
and Accident insurance policies, he said that N953.76 million was paid to policy holders, accounting for 35 percent of the total sum paid, while Marine Insurance claims took 15.3percent of the total claims paid, which amounted to N415.87 million. Other classes of insurance with claims payments include Special Risk insurance policies with N277.11 million paid out as claims, representing 10.1 percent of total claims. while Engineering Insurance Policies took N20.08 million and Bond Insurance amounted to N5.27million. Speaking on the company’s previous actions on claims payment, the Corporate Communications Manager Royal Exchange, Wilson Okoh said the company paid close to N4billion to Nigerian bottling Company for the fire in its Benin plant in 2010 and was the lead insurer in a consortium that paid out over N3.63billion to Friesland Foods West African Milk Company (WAMCO) over the major flood disaster that occured in its Lagos factory in 2011.
IGI Constitutes New Management Team Industrial And General Insurance Plc (IGI) has constituted a new management team that will oversee the affairs of the company. This, according to the company, is in continuation of its restructuring programme aimed at repositioning for optimum performance. The company’s Corporate Communications manager, Steve Ilo, who made this known said the new team would occupy the positions in acting capacities, with immediate effect pending when substantive officers are appointed in line with the regulations of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). The new team is headed by Mr. Bayo Folayan, as the acting Managing Director; Mr. Shade Ajayi, acting Executive Director, Technical and Operations; Mr. Nnamdi Iwuoha, acting Head, Technical Division; Mr. Bolade Ashaolu, acting Head, Marketing, and Mr. Emmanuel Udoh, acting Chief Finance Officer. He said the development, followed the retirement of members of the executive
management led by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rotimi Fashola, alongside the Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Sina Elusakin, both of whom have served the company in various positions for over 20 years. The Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, Mr. Yinka Obalade, also retired, while his Information Technology, Human Resource and Administration counterpart, Mrs. Foluso Gbadamosi, tendered her resignation. Ilo, said the change in the company’s leadership is part of the restructuring process initiated by the Board of Directors to revitalise the organisation. “The erstwhile management, having laid the requisite foundation and structures for the success of the repositioning agenda, offered to step aside to pave the way for fresh ideas that will further galvanise the advancement of the new strategic direction of the company. “The board thanked the outgoing management for its immense contribution to
the growth of the company and for laying the proper structures and processes for the ongoing restructuring�, Ilo added. On the company’s performance track over the years, Ilo said, “from the performance indices, it is clear that IGI, is applying the right strategies and moving in the right direction, with strong momentum. We recognise the need to sustain this momentum in order to create a formidable platform for long-term performance. On the future of the company he said: “Shareholders have every cause to look forward to a better future as the company is being positioned to enhance sustainable growth and improve return on equity. In the months ahead, there will be strong emphasis on strategy execution in order to efficiently and effectively realise our expected gains. Our projections indicate positive growth in all areas and we are committed to exceeding the benchmark for standard performance,� he stated.