FSDH Merchant Bank has launched its custody services offering for investors as part of commitment to continually deliver on its excellent track record of innovative financial and investment solutions. Custody is a financial service product that provides safekeeping of financial assets.

The company said in a statement yesterday that the launch is part of the FSDH Group’s plan to meet investors’ needs by covering their end-to-end transactions, further showcasing FSDH’s years of expertise and experience within the financial services sector.

“Our unique proposition includes the use of technology to provide enhanced service delivery, assets servicing, and proffer sophisticated solutions to customer’s banking and financial services needs. Our competitive pricing model and global reach will also enable us to act as sub-custodians to global custodian banks and engage directly with foreign portfolio investors and fund managers in the market and those looking to come into the country,” it said.

According to the firm, this function is performed through FSDH Nominees, a nominee vehicle for holding clients’ assets separate from the Bank’s proprietary assets.

“With this licence, our clients will benefit from our focus on excellent pre- and post-trading services. We can now offer both our local and international clients superior end-to-end service experience by supporting them at every stage of the investment cycle, leveraging the capabilities within the FSDH Group and our excellent track record in the areas of investment banking, corporate banking, asset management, and wealth management,” it said.

Commenting,  the Managing Director, FSDH Merchant Bank, Bukola Smith, affirmed that FSDH will continue to deepen our business lines, strengthen our offerings and deliver our promise to play a key role in the success journey of our clients.

‘’As we offer a one-stop array of financial services to our customers; we are now able to deliver efficient end-to-end of their transaction life cycle and we offer years of experience and expertise within the money market, capital market, corporate and transaction banking space to do so excellently,’’ she said.

Smith  added that this new phase provides an additional option of non-pension custody services through which our bank can provide higher standards of service through experienced personnel across FSDH Group.

Commenting on the new offering, Divisional Head, Global Markets & Prestige Banking at FSDH Merchant Bank, Hakeem Muhammed,  reiterated FSDH’s proven decades of expertise in financial services.

’With the launch of our custodial service, a banking solution aimed at enhancing the post-trading activities of our clients, we will ensure an efficient custody management process and safekeeping of assets with the highest assurances of safety, efficiency, use of technology, superior service, lower turn-around-time and a direct settlement process with Euroclear Bank which ensures timely settlement,’’ he said.

Muhammed also expressed that the addition of custody services to our offerings would enable us to continue to delight our clients by delivering value-added services that will significantly impact the performance and profitability of our existing and future clients.

With the Global Custody license, FSDH Merchant Bank through its Nominees service can now serve as a premium investor services solution provider for asset managers, institutional investors, banks, insurance companies, brokers, private equity firms, NGOs, foreign portfolio investors and HNIs. Other services include provision of fund services, administration for SEC-regulated collective investment schemes, portfolio valuation, collateral management, escrow agency services, securities lending, cash management, compliance reporting amongst others.

FSDH Merchant Bank has embarked on programmes that would enhance Foreign Exchange (FX) inflow into the through sensitisation of stakeholders on the latest policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) known as RT 200 Policy.

The CBN RT 200 policy is an attempt by the apex bank to provide a significant incentive for Nigeria to achieve its objective of US$200 billion in foreign exchange repatriation from non-oil exports over the next 3-5 years.

Bukola Smith, managing director/CEO, FSDH Merchant Bank, said that there is a need to develop new strategies getting more stable and sustainable inflows of FX into the country. According to her, the major challenge in the Nigerian export chain is the unstructured procedures that cause delays, corruption and rejection of the country’s exports as a result of their low quality.

Speaking at the bank’s exclusive breakfast meeting with the theme, ‘CBN RT 200 Policy: Implication for Export Trade’, she said, the CBN RT 200 policy requires critical export infrastructure, financial trade diplomacy and adequate funding for it to succeed. According to her, export of unprocessed commodities is largely responsible for Nigeria’s low earnings from non-oil exports.

She however advised that the country can also target products for which Nigeria has the capacity and advantage to earn more forex; by focusing on the export of finished goods from commodities such as sesame seed, cashew, cocoa where Nigeria has some comparative advantage.

“The confidence we have is that our services can help the economy grow on a considerable scale and we’ll keep working to maintain this momentum,” Bukola Smith said.

As the volatile nature of the foreign exchange availability in the economy continue to expose Nigerian businesses, analysts present at the event urged the CBN and the Federal Government to come up with more policies seen at giving foreign investors more confidence that there will not be policy flip-flops, on the back of the country’s structural deficiency in the economy, which have affected the cost of living.

However, import/export trade analyst, Bamidele Ayemibo, lead consultant, 3T Impex Consulting Limited, sees more inflation as politicking gets tougher ahead of 2023 because politicians are likely to demand for more forex.

The author of the book, “Built to go Global”, said that the book was written as a response to the challenges of businesses from around the world that desire to go global, but are unable to realize their dream because of difficulty caused by barriers in internationalization.

“If they are import/export trade, particularly on the export side; they are better off generating their foreign exchange themselves. If they don’t generate their foreign exchange themselves, it will be very tough because the rate will really go up,” he said.

According to him, businesses can hedge against the uncertainty in the forex market by increasing their import demands to get more raw materials ahead of time.

“The only way is to prepare for it; if you don’t prepare for it, it will get worse. There is a high level of dropout in Nigeria export trade,” Ayemibo said.

As part of their commitment to empowering businesses and support the growth of economies, Nigeria’s premier Merchant bank, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, hosted key healthcare stakeholders for a morning of Insightful conversations around the urgency of healthcare financing in Nigeria, and the importance of digitisation in supporting industry operations.

Speaking at the event tagged: “Financing healthcare in Nigeria”, Managing Director of FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Mrs Bukola Smith said the bank’s array of financial solutions could boost revenue and promote financing in the healthcare sector.

The event hosted dignitaries and special guests like the Hon Commissioner for Health, Lagos state Prof Akin Abayomi, Mrs. Fola Laoye, Founder Iwosan Investments Limited, Prof Emmanuel Jeje, Medical Director Marigold Hospital, Mrs. Clare Omatseye, Managing Director JNC International, Dr. Biodun Aluko, Medical Director Premier Specialist Hospital, and other top professionals in the health ecosystem.

Speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said that the government of Lagos will continue to drive policies to make healthcare and health insurance more accessible and favourable to citizens.

While addressing how the bank will impact health businesses and grow the economy, the Group Head of Corporate Banking & Branches, Stella-Marie Omogbai said “FSDH identified the healthcare industry as an area of interest, and we put together a team of doctors and professionals who understand the business of healthcare finance. We set up a health desk manned by some of the most experienced doctors and practitioners and since then, we have gone ahead to finance healthcare projects, support several hospitals, HMOs as well as partnerships with the private and public sectors including the Lagos State Government”

Omogbai who gave an overview of the global healthcare industry remarked that “Healthcare in most of Sub-Sahara Africa remains the worst in the world. Despite decades of foreign assistance, few countries in the region are able to spend even the $34-$40 per person specified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for basic health care.”

According to her, studies conducted by International Finance Corporation (IFC) with the assistance of McKinsey & Company estimate that over this decade, $25-$30 billion in new investment is needed in healthcare assets, including hospitals, clinics and health distribution services to meet the growing health care demands.

In her keynote address, Mrs. Fola Laoye, Co-Founder & CEO, Iwosan Investments noted that banks need to play a key role as industry catalysts by providing financing and understanding how MSME financing could be applied to the healthcare sector.

She also recommended mergers and acquisitions and Public Private Partnerships (PPP) financing to help create business partnerships and market consolidation that will deliver economies of scale, equipment financing and technical assistance to support healthcare clients to address their bankability factors and key issues of interest rates and FX availability.

In his presentation on the importance of digitisation in the health sector, Dr Neto Ikpeme CEO of Wella Health Technologies touched on the adoption of technology for healthcare professionals in driving efficiency. He also said that this adoption would save time and help businesses provide better services.

Furthermore, the event hosted an interactive panel session leveraging the expertise of key players like Dare Odumade, CEO Chekitt Technologies, Dr Neto Ikpeme, CEO Wella Health, Mr. Bolaji Odunsi, Chairman Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre and Dr Pamela Ajayi, President Health Federation of Nigeria to discuss the endless opportunities of emerging trends in the sector, health insurance and how businesses can access adequate funding.

African Guarantee Fund (AGF) through its subsidiary AGF West Africa, has today signed an agreement with FSDH Merchant Bank to the tune of N3.8billion to scale up the bank’s SME business portfolio for an initial 5-year period.

Businesses play a major role in most economies, particularly in developing countries. The survival and growth of small-scale businesses is an important contributor to job creation and economic development in emerging markets like Nigeria. However, access to finance is a key constraint to business growth, it is particularly difficult for SMEs and women-led businesses to access funding without difficulties in Nigeria. The partnership between African Guarantee Fund and FSDH Merchant Bank aims to reduce this gap.  

In her statement, the Managing Director of FSDH Merchant Bank, Bukola Smith acknowledged the impact of the scheme “At FSDH, we are promoting investments in growing sectors of the Nigerian economy like agriculture, healthcare, technology and the female economy. This transaction will open more opportunities for us to support the growth of the economy on a considerable scale and we will keep working with all relevant stakeholders to maintain this momentum” she said.  

She further stated that the agreement with African Guarantee Fund will support the bank’s commitment to assisting women-owned businesses and SMEs in closing the funding gap. “The N3.8 billion credit line will strengthen our short-term business loans and will be deployed directly to mid-sized companies and through SME aggregators, business incubators, investment acceleration programmes for businesses who are willing to scale and our women in business initiative”. Similarly, last November, FSDH Merchant Bank announced a N2billion funding for women led businesses in partnership with Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN). The recent agreement with African Guarantee Fund further strengthens the resolve to contribute to the economic growth of businesses and entry into new markets.

In his remarks, The Managing Director, African Guarantee Fund West Africa, Bendjin Kpeglo affirmed that the partnership will serve the common interests of both AGF and FSDH Merchant Bank to strengthen, promote, and develop cooperation in creating financial inclusion and support systems for entrepreneurs. “The facility is centered around transforming the SME sector, while also particularly supporting women-led businesses who access less financing due to structural inequalities and discrimination. Through the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program, we will boost the already existing products that FSDH Merchant Bank avails to women entrepreneurs. The guarantee will also foster sustainable development by unlocking financing for businesses focused on clean energy, cleaner production, green services, climate-smart agriculture and natural resource management.”

As more stakeholders take steps to close the funding gap in Nigeria, there is an undeniable air of optimism for the future of SMEs. Organizations like FSDH Merchant Bank and African Guarantee Fund will continue to operate at the intersection of high-growth businesses and institutional funding, connecting more businesses to funding opportunities, thereby enabling them to propel their businesses and spur sustainable growth in the economy.