MTN gets CBN confirmation to run payment bank

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTNN) said that it has received final approval from the CBN with respect to the Payment Service Bank (PSB), Momo PSB Ltd. This was disclosed in a press release titled  “The Central Bank of Nigeria grants final approval for mom payment service bank limited to commence operation signed by Uro Ukpanah, the Company Secretary. In November 2021 MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa received an “Approval in Principle” (AIP)  from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate as Payment Service Banks. According to MTNN, the date of commencement will be communicated to the CBN in accordance with its requirements. 

Meanwhile NGX ASI rose 0.5% to 46,867.95 points. Consequently, YTD return rebounded to 9.7% (previously: 9.2%) while MTD Performance %     -0.2% market capitalisation gained ₦127.5bn to ₦25.3tn. Trading activity improved as volume and value traded rose respectively to 224.6m units and ₦3.8bn. Across sectors within our coverage, all sectors save 1 closed in the green. Leading the advancers, the Banking index was up 2.8% on account of price appreciation in ZENITH (+4.4%) and UBN (+3.3%). 

Similarly, the Insurance and AFR-ICT indices expanded 1.4% and 0.6% respectively due to buying interest in MANSARD (+3.7%), AIICO (+3.0%), and MTNN (+1.2%). Also, WAPCO (+3.4%), CUTIX (+8.1%), and INTBREW (+1.0%) drove a 0.2% and 3bps -0.2% gain in the Industrial Goods and Consumer Goods indices respectively. On the flip side, the Oil & Gas index was the sole loser, down 0.1% on the back of profit taking in OANDO (-1.0%). Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, improved to 0.30x from 0.00x in the prior session as 32 stocks advanced, 13 declined while 64 closed flat. In the subsequent trading session, we expect bargain buying to support positive market performance.