The Block and Concrete moulders who were on a tour of the Dangote Cement, Ibese plant lamented that they were finding it increasingly difficult to get block master brand of Dangote Cement which was specifically launched for the block makers.National President of the Association, Prince Adesegun Banjoko who led the South-West branch of the association to the plant said its members were at a loss over why major distributors of the Dangote Cement were reluctant to take block master and urged the management to reverse the trend.As a solution to the problem, the NAMBON President suggested the creation of satellite depots for distribution of the Dangote variant so that the block and concrete moulders would have access to the products easily.In his response, the Ibese Plant Director of Dangote Cement, Mr. Azard Nawabuddin said the product would be made available at any time and assured that the management would look into the problem of scarcity in the market.He said that Dangote has thousands of tonnes of the product in its silos in the plant and wondered why the block moulders would be complaining of not getting it in the market.Nawabuddin urged the block moulders to give the company time to dissect the situation and come to an acceptable solution to the issue saying “we are in the business to sell cement, we cat be producing a brand for you and will be hiding it from you to purchase. Take it from me you will beging to get block masters as soon as possible. Take it from me.”In his comment, the National Artisan Coordinator, Dangote Cement, Mr. Johnson Olaniyi told the blockmakers to exercise patience while the solution was being worked out noting that the NAMBON members are important stakeholders who could not be toyed with.He said the company would roll out the machinery to ensure that the product is readily available in the market, “though it does nt come cheap, as the blockmaster was specifically produced for them for better quality and more yield.”Olaniyi explained that Dangote Cement has always being in the forefront of quality product and that is the reason there has not been any equivalent of Blockmaster variant in the market because it is expensive to produce.He assured the block makers that Dangote Cement would look into their complaints and come up with practically solution and ensure it’s a win-win situation for all parties.Send   

Dedicating the award to customers and staff of the bank, Managing Director/ Chief Executive officer of Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said, “Our long-running support for the growth and development of small businesses stems from our recognition of SMEs as critical agents of economic transformation in Nigeria.That is why we constantly innovate new ways of helping them meet their objectives. I thank our customers for keeping faith with us and our staff for going the extra mile in delighting our customers”.According to Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe, over the years, Fidelity Bank has developed a strong multifaceted SME banking franchise, driven by tailored products and services. She also noted that the bank has attractive offerings backed by the requisite one-on-one and cluster-focused advisory services and hand-holding support for SME customers.The Global Finance Banking Awards are recognized globally and justly regarded as the industry standard for premier banking and financial services excellence with key sources of data and intelligence on the global banking and finance industry.The yearly awards recognize deserving financial institutions and corporate organizations, that drive innovation in the global financing community. They reflect on the achievement, strategy, progressive and inspirational changes taking place within the financial sector.Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 6.5 million customers serviced across its 250 business offices and digital banking channels.The bank has also won awards for the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.Send   

FirstBank delighted investors with a pleasant surprise when it announced stellar results confirming that its turnaround strategy pinned on the pillars of innovation, resilience and digging deep is working.Its profit after tax spiked 108% to N32.4billion on the back of massive loan recoveries and a sharply lower level of non-performing loans (6.1%). Its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) increased to 17.4%, giving it the much-needed buffers required to withstand financial shocks and turbulent headwinds in the coming quarters.FirstBank, one of a handful of banks that adopted the holding company structure, has been proven right as almost all the other tier one competitors have emulated the model. As far as competition is concerned, FirstBank is fighting hard to recover lost grounds to the nimble fintechs, the highly capitalised and efficient telcos and their payment savings bank subsidiaries.Indeed, FirstBank is well equipped to fight amongst the sharks in this blood-soaked ocean. We expect to see FBN stock rise in the months ahead due to its massive undervaluation and its evident potential upside. We recommend the stock as a BUY,” Financial Derivatives said in its assessment of the FirstBank annual report.–  Financial DerivativesSend