What does it mean for a mortgage bank to switch to a commercial banking licence?
This had always been VFD's playbook. They applied for a banking licence (and had the capital to deploy), but didn't get it.
So acquiring a distressed mortgage bank and converting it became the cheaper, faster route to what they always wanted, in that you inherit a regulated entity, a balance sheet, and a listing instead of building from scratch.
Abbey was that gateway. I once wrote (here: https://t.co/8RszlJ4QKB) how they took over a dying business, recapitalised it, and gave it a lifeline.
Going commercial means the shareholders now want to play in a more attractive pool. The attraction is the economics of banking when run well, chiefly cheaper deposit funding (current & savings accounts). That's the real prize, because banking margins live and die on the cost of funds.
One caveat: this is a regional licence, not a national one.
Wider pool, but still a tier below the big players. Is this the destination or a stepping stone? The jury is out.
More upside also means more pressure, risk, and scrutiny, i.e., building a deposit franchise from scratch (well, maybe not exactly from scratch given the VFD ecosystem), managing asset-liability mismatch, carrying higher capital and compliance costs.
But if management executes, this can be a serious value-add.
This is my friend of over 30 years, his wife was amongst those abducted in Oriire 😭. Husband hasn’t seen his wife for 18 days, the children’s haven’t seen their mother, the parents haven’t seen their daughter.
Our lives have never remain the same since the sad incident.
Please rescue the pupils & teachers for us as soon as possible please, ná beg we dey beg oooo.
#RescueOriire.
If Nigerians were sane, Tinubu shouldn’t even be allowed to campaign anywhere in the country, let alone consider being reelected.
An epitome of failure.
NUT have mandated teachers in Oyo state to withdraw their services. Parents are also advised to keep their children at home.
Shocking that it took this long.
More shocking that this isn't a national standing order.
Mrs. Alamu Folawe – Principal
Mr. Ojo Jonathan – Vice Principal
Mr. Olatunde Zacchaeus – Teacher
Mr. John Olaleye – Teacher
Mr. Michael Oyedokun – Teacher RIP
Mrs. Oladeji – Teacher
Mary Akanbi – Teacher
Mr Adesiyan Adegboye - RIP
@officialABAT#BringBackOurTeachers
Damilare Oderinde -8, Deborah Adebowale -5, Aisha Oguntowo -10, Lege Taiwo -12, Balkis Ayanwale -8, Asa David -10, Shuaibu Aliyu –10, Ahmed Aliyu –7, Muiz Aliyu – 5, Jomiloju Ogunlola –Agune Noah – 8, Elizabeth Abadi –5, Tosin Abadi –9, Pius Stephen – 5, Hannah Ojo – 14, Habidat Ayanwale – 7, Mary Gabriel – 6, Jacob Gabriel
@officialABAT #BringBackOurChildren
Since yesterday, I have seen the argument about Bar Finals v. CFA v. ICAN, but I couldn’t participate in it for two reasons. Firstly, I was busy throughout yesterday with other real-life engagements and secondly, which is the main reason, I find it unnecessary to engage in such comparisons with people who are not in my profession about which exam is harder.
No doubt, Bar Finals is one of the toughest exams any law student will undertake to become a lawyer. The preparation process leading up to the exam, which is usually 5 consecutive days designed to test everything you have been taught, is crazy. That one year is excruciating. The syllabus is so bulky that if you are not mentally strong, you may not be able to read everything and even if you manage to read it all, you may not be able to recollect everything you have read. Even if you remember what you have read, the real problem lies in your ability to properly interpret questions, answer them with precision and still finish the exam within the allotted time. This is why Bar Finals is not one exam you want to do twice. It is best experienced once.
The above is my take on Bar Finals. Is this experience enough for me to conclude that Bar Finals is the hardest exam in the world? The answer is simply NO. I do not have the locus to make such a hasty generalisation. My experience is limited. I do not know what medical school exams feel like. I do not know what ICAN or CFA feels like. So the best thing would have been for me to say, “As far as I am concerned, the hardest exam a law student will take is the Bar Finals Exam,” even though that may still be subject to debate, but at least I can defend that position.
The point I am driving at is that, respectfully, both lawyers and accountants comparing Bar Finals with ICAN are doing the wrong thing. The exams are not comparable and they each have their differences. The only similarity between them is that they are both professional exams that require serious effort to pass. The fact that accounting students did Introduction to Business Law or Introduction to Company Law does not mean our exams are so cheap.
As a matter of fact, those courses are not even taught or expanded for non-law students the way they are done for actual law students. While I was in university, I prepared some non-law students for certain law courses and when I saw their past questions, I was surprised. The questions were not set in a technical sense the way they are for actual law students. Law lecturers understand that non-law students only need basic knowledge of those courses, so they do not make the questions unnecessarily technical or mark their scripts using the same standards applied to law students. Who will even give a law student 98/100 in Company Law or Business Law? 98 ko, 100/100 ni 😂😂 in my own uni and most public institutions that I know o. I have never heard of such even though we know some students can actually get it.
So please, let us refrain from unnecessary comparisons. It is not proper and may only lead to needless arguments and disrespect between professionals in different fields. Every profession has its own peculiar difficulties, sacrifices and standards. Instead of trying to invalidate another person’s struggle, it is better we respect the effort it takes to succeed in our respective professional exams.
Thank you.
Usman A. Lanase Esq.
30-05-2026.
I am sick to my stomach watching that video of the teacher being beheaded in Oyo State.
You dedicate your life to teaching mathematics and building the next generation, only to be abducted and slaughtered.
This is not life!
The primary duty of ANY government is the protection of lives. If a teacher cannot even be safe inside a classroom, then nobody is safe. Security operatives are dying, and citizens are bleeding. We are not angry enough!
We cannot normalise this madness. The government must wipe out these monsters and bring the remaining teachers home alive. My heart bleeds for Mr Oyedokun. He did not deserve this. My deepest condolences go to his family.
Please @oyostategovt@seyimakinde@NGRPresident. Something HAS to be done!
30 Day Challenge-Day 14✅
Self-awareness is not a weakness to hide. It is a strength to leverage.
Applicants who can honestly name their limitations, explain what they have done about them, and articulate what they still need to grow, tend to come across as more credible and more mature.
Committees fund people they trust, and trust begins with honesty.
Pretending to have no gaps does not protect you. It makes reviewers suspicious.
Becoming 1% better per day is 37 times better per year.
Saving ₦2,000 per day is ₦730,000 per year.
Posting one piece of content daily is 365 chances to go viral per year.
Reading 20 pages per day is 30 books per year.
Practicing your craft 30 minutes daily is 182 hours of mastery per year.
Small habits are underestimated.
If you are born in the trenches like some of us and you want to break out .
You cannot afford to be mediocre
You must be laser and hyper focus, You need serious clarity! what kind of success do you need ? Define it, Write it down today
Everyone who knows me at Ijegun will tell you "Adija Oni marry si Ijegun, koni bimo sibi" I always say I will never be a victim of teenage pregnancy, it was very rampant around Me. Book was my shield
Be prepared to work harder, yes Harder than an average person. Hard work is the currency you pay the rich and elites to join them
You will read and wider than the Rich, Be aware that an average rich person is an avid reader BUT you must be prepared to do more so that when your opportunity comes you will be able to NEGOTIATE at their level , Trust me on this, If you can communicate with them , you can mix to a certain extent in their group
Find a Mentor in your niche and discipline, listen to Instructions, follow the guidelines and Templates giving to you and be ready to do way more than your mentor, Yes DO IT , and be ready to serve . Serve
BE BOLD AnD Audacious , Knowledge will give you the advantage
Be Extremely prayerful, Ask for favour , Grace, God's help, Ask that your efforts shall be blessed but Remember that Prayer without commensurate work is nothing
May our efforts be blessed , I stop for now