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No, but you will be able to purchase an external keyboard that plugs in via USB. Many external keyboards are water-resistant or waterproof.
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Can Windows 7 work on lenovo n500?
Yes. It more than meets the minimum requirements.
What kind of computer would be best for an accountant?
I did research and found names of several laptops but could not find any of them in the electronic stores; Asus Eee PC S101, Samsung NC10, Dell vostro I510, Lenovo 3000 N500, Toshiba Setallite A300, HPCompaq 6830, Medion Akoya S2210, Asus MV50-AS001C and Sony Vaio VGN-FWIIe
How old do oysters have to be before they can be sold in Maryland?
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Manufactured overhead costs N500 000.00 units produced 10 000 direct materials N24.00 and direct labor N12.00 what is a predetermined overhead rate?
What journal entry is made in a job-order costing system when $8000 of material are requisitioned for general factory use instead of for use in a particular job?
How does the central bank of Nigeria help to carry out the monetary policies of the Nigerian government?
Monetary PolicyMPC Mandate of the CBN | Calendar of Meetings | Fiscal Policy | Conduct of MPC | Committees | Educational | FAQ's | Policy Decisions | MPC Minutes of Meeting | Policy Communiqués | Intl. Economic Cooperations | Monetary Policy Review | Policy Measures | Understanding Monetary Policy SeriesMPC FunctionsIssuance of Legal Tender Currency Notes and coinsThe Central Bank of Nigeria engages in currency issue and distribution within the economy. The Bank assumed these important functions since 1959 when it replaced the West African Currency Board (WACB) pound then in circulation with the Nigerian pound. The decimal currency denominations, Naira and Kobo, were introduced in 1973 in order to move to the metric system, which simplifies transactions. In 1976, a higher denomination note - N20 joined the currency profile. In 1984, a currency exchange was carried out whereby, the colors of existing currencies were swapped in order to discourage currency hoarding and forestall counterfeiting. In 1991, a currency reform was carried out which brought about the phasing out of 2kobo and 5kobo coins, while the 1k, 10k and 25k coins were redesigned. In addition, the 50k and N1 notes were coined, while the N50 note was put in circulation. In the quest to enhance the payments system and substantially reduces the volume and cost of production of "legal tender notes", the N100 and N200 notes were issued in December 1999 and November 2000, respectively. Similarly, the N500 note was issued in 2001.Maintenance of Nigeria's External ReservesIn order to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency, the CBN is actively involved in the management of the country's debt and foreign exchange.Debt Management:In addition to its function of mobilizing funds for the Federal Government, the CBN in the past managed its domestic debt and services external debt on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Finance. On the domestic front, the Bank advises the Federal Government as to the timing and size of new debt instruments, advertises for public subscription to new issues, redeems matured stocks, pays interest and principal as and when due, collects proceeds of issues for and on behalf of the Federal Government, and sensitises the Government on the implications of the size of debt and budget deficit, among others. On external debt service, the CBN also cooperates with other agencies to manage the country's debt. In 2001, the responsibility of debt management was transferred to Debt Management Office (DMO).Foreign Exchange Management:Foreign Exchange management involves the acquisition and deployment of foreign exchange resources in order to reduce the destabilizing effects of short-term capital flows in the economy. The CBN monitors the use of scarce foreign exchange resources to ensure that foreign exchange disbursements and utilization are in line with economic priorities and within the annual foreign exchange budget in order to ensure available balance of payments position as well as the stability of the Naira.Promotion and Maintenance of Monetary Stabilityand a Sound and Efficient Financial SystemThe effectiveness of any central bank in executing its functions hinges crucially on its ability to promote monetary stability. Price stability is indispensable for money to perform its role of medium exchange, store of value, standard of deferred payments and unit of account. Attainment of monetary stability rests on a central bank's ability to evolve effective monetary policy and to implement it effectively. Since June 30, 1993 when the CBN adopted the market-based mechanism for the conduct of monetary policy, Open Market Operations (OMO) has constituted the primary tool of monetary management supported by reserve requirements and discount window operations for enhanced effectiveness in liquidity management. Specifically, liquidity management by the Central Bank of Nigeria involves the routine control of the level of liquidity in the system in order to maintain monetary stability. Periodically, the CBN determines target growth rates of money supply, which are compatible with overall policy goals. It also seeks to align commercial and merchant banking activities with the overall target. The CBN through its surveillance activities over banks and non-bank financial institutions seeks to promote a sound and efficient financial system in Nigeria.Banker and Financial Adviser to the Federal Government.The CBN as banker to the Federal government undertakes most of Federal Government banking businesses within and outside the country. The Bank also provides banking services to the state and local governments and may act as banker to institutions, funds or corporation set up by the Federal, State and Local Governments. The CBN also finances government in period of temporary budget shortfalls through Ways and Means Advances subject to limits imposed by law. As financial adviser to the Federal Government, the Bank advises on the nature and size of government debt instruments to be issued, while it acts as the issuing house on behalf of government for the short, medium and long-term debt instruments. The Bank coordinates the financial needs of government in collaboration with the treasury to determine appropriately the term, timing of issue and volume of instruments to raise funds for government financing.Banker and Lender of Last Resort to BanksThe CBN maintains current account for deposit money banks. It also provides clearing house facilities through which instruments from the banks are processed and settled. Similarly, it undertakes trade finance functions on behalf of banks' customers. Finally, it provides temporary accommodation to banks in the performance of its functions as lender of last resort.
What is the history of the Islamic banking system in the Nigerian economy?
Islamic banking has the same purpose as conventional banking except that it operates in accordance with the rules of Sharia, known as Fiqh al-Muamalat (Islamic rules on transactions). The basic principle of Islamic banking is the sharing of profit and loss and the prohibition of riba´ (interest). Amongst the common Islamic concepts used in Islamic banking are profit sharing (Mudharabah), safekeeping (Wadiah), joint venture (Musharakah), cost plus (Murabahah), and leasing (Ijarah).In an Islamic mortgage transaction, instead of loaning the buyer money to purchase the item, a bank might buy the item itself from the seller, and re-sell it to the buyer at a profit, while allowing the buyer to pay the bank in installments. However, the fact that it is profit cannot be made explicit and therefore there are no additional penalties for late payment. In order to protect itself against default, the bank asks for strict collateral. The goods or land is registered to the name of the buyer from the start of the transaction. This arrangement is called Murabaha.Another approach is Ijara wa Iqtina, which is similar to real-estate leasing. Islamic banks handle loans for vehicles in a similar way (selling the vehicle at a higher-than-market price to the debtor and then retaining ownership of the vehicle until the loan is paid). There are several other approaches used in business deals. Islamic banks lend their money to companies by issuing floating rate interest loans. The floating rate of interest is pegged to the company's individual rate of return. Thus the bank's profit on the loan is equal to a certain percentage of the company's profits. Once the principal amount of the loan is repaid, the profit-sharing arrangement is concluded. This practice is called Musharaka. Further, Mudaraba is venture capital funding of an entrepreneur who provides labor while financing is provided by the bank so that both profit and risk are shared. Such participatory arrangements between capital and labor reflect the Islamic view that the borrower must not bear all the risk/cost of a failure, resulting in a balanced distribution of income and not allowing lender to monopolize the economy. And finally, Islamic banking is restricted to islamically acceptable deals, which exclude those involving alcohol, pork, gambling, etc. Thus ethical investing is the only acceptable form of investment, and moral purchasing is encouraged. JAIZ International is trying to see that it has establish an Islamic bank in this country, however with the review of Capital adequacy in Nigerian banks, the Islamic bank is delayed. Although the N25B Capital base is one condition for the establishment of an Islamic bank in Nigeria, but we see that there is more to meeting this CBN condition. The most important required conditions are: Managerial commitment, sharia supervisory board, safeguarding Muslim investor's fund and compliance with AAOIFI standards. Managerial commitment: The management must be fully convinced of the concept and fully committed and dedicated to it. Unless the entire management is committed and convinced, the business activities and the enterprise will not be foul free or will not escape irregularities and deviation. Regardless of how strict and stringent fatwa and contracts are, this will not ensure sound practices if there is no one sufficiently SINCERE and committed to implement the principles.• Sharia Supervisory Board: There should be a sharia supervisory board for any Islamic bank, and that board should consist of trustworthy scholars who are highly qualified to issue fatawa on financial transactions.Giving our present situation within the MUSLIMS today how do we constitute the members of the board? Another issue is TRUST from the customers who may use the banks fund, when it comes to profit sharing. Last but not the least is ENLIGHTEMENT, many people even within the Muslim are not aware of how Islamic banks operate. Therefore there is urgent need for a serious enlightenment to the public on operational modalities and requirement of an Islamic bank. Other options that may be considered by JAIZ or even states like SOKOTO, KANO BORNO, KATSINA etc is to establish an ISLAMIC MICRO FINANCE at local government level. The recently approved MICRO FINANCE BANKS can be converted to an Islamic one. In a symposium held at Harvard University on FINANCING THE POOR: Towards Islamic Microfinance some time last year, Nazim Ali has pointed out that Microfinance is not reaching the poorest of the poor, even though this is its purpose, and loans are going to activities unrelated to entrepreneurship. Islamic finance could, in principle and in practice, correct these defects. Robert Annibale, global director of microfinance for Citigroup, shared his insights into both Islamic finance and microfinance. He described microfinance institutions as self-styled "bankers of the poor `, originally rooted in domestic, local markets but increasing expanding into larger markets and offering a broader range of services. He noted that the high operating costs, passed on to the customer in the form of high interest rates, are a hurdle for the poor. He felt that this was where there is potential for Islamic finance to make a difference. Under conventional microfinance, risk is borne by borrowers and rarely held by the institutions. Islamic finance focuses on interest-free methods of providing capital, because the shari'ah holds lending to be a purely charitable exercise, rather than a means of making a profit, Islamic finance is also accustomed to methods of risk-reward sharing between the institution and the borrower. Islamic microfinance banks have grown significantly in countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. In fact, Islamic microfinance institutions enjoy greater penetration than traditional commercial banks in Bangladesh. It is high time for us here in Nigeria (particularly in the north because the south have started) to start introducing Islamic microfinance banks which will graduate to a full BANK in future.Requirements for Islamic Banking in NigeriaAccording to a draft framework released by the Central Bank in March,Ø Islamic banks, referred to as non-interest banks shall be licensed in accordance with the requirements for a new banking license issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria from time to time.Ø Conventional banks operating in Nigeria may offer sharia-compliant products and services through their non-interest banking branches or windows. However, such branches or windows cannot offer conventional banking or interest based products and services.Ø Banks offering non-interest banking products and services shall not include the words "Islamic" as part of their registered or licensed name. This, the draft described as being in line with the provisions of Section 39 (1) of Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 1991 (as amended). They shall how-ever, be recognized by a uniform logo to be designed and approved by the CBN. The CBN shall require all the banks' signages and promotional materials to carry the logo to facilitate recognition by consumers.Ø The Central Bank shall set up an advisory committee on non-interest bank-ing within the CBN to be called the CBN Shariah Council (CSC), which will be outsourced. The Council shall advise the CBN on Islamic laws and principles for the purposes of regulating non-interest banking business.Ø All non-interest banks are required to maintain a minimum Risk Weighted Asset Ratio of 10.0% or as may be determined by the CBN from time to time for the purpose of calculating its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR).Ø All applications must be submitted with the required documents including a Non-refundable application fee of N500, 000.00 and deposit of minimum capital of N25 billion with the Central Bank of Nigeria.Ø Not later than six (6) months after the grant of an Approval In Principle (A.I.P), the promoters of a proposed bank must submit application for the grant of a final banking license to the Director of Banking Supervision with a Non-refundable licensing fee of N5 million in bank draft payable to the CBN and other required documents
Effects of capitalizaton on Nigeria Banks?
The Impact of Recapitalization and Consolidation on Banks Costs of Equity in NigeriaAbstract:This study investigates the impact of the impact of the bank recapitalization and consolidation program on the cost of equity capital of banks in Nigeria. On the strength of the analysis done and the result obtained, the study concludes that the consolidation and recapitalization programme has brought about considerable reduction in the cost of equity capital of the sampled banks.INTRODUCTIONThe financial deregulation in Nigeria that started in 1987 subsequent to the adoption of the now abandoned Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in 1986, generated a high and healthy degree of competition in the banking sector. This was because the financial deregulation provided incentives for the expansion of banks in terms of individual size and number of banks in operation. However, the increased competition in the financial sector in general and the banking sub-sector in particular, amidst political instability and financial policies inconsistencies on the part of the financial regulators, led to rapid decline in profitability of the traditional banking activities. Thus in a bid to survive and maintain adequate profit level in the ensuing political and policy instability in the Nigerian economy, banks started taking excessive risks which led to frequent bank failures and related financial shocks in the economy.In its effort to prevent frequent bank failures, on July 6, 2004, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a major reform program that would transform the banking landscape of Nigeria. The main thrust of these new reform program was the prescription of a minimum shareholders funds of N25 billion for all Nigerian banks. The banks were expected to increase their capital through the injection of fresh funds where applicable. The banks were also encouraged to enter into merger/acquisition arrangements with other relatively smaller banks thus taking the advantage of economies of scale to reduce cost of doing business and enhance their competitiveness locally and internationally.The program resulted in reduction in the number of banks from 89-25 through merger/acquisition involving 76 banks. Indeed, the importance of adequate capital in banking cannot be overemphasized. Thus, increasing the capital base of banks as intended by the consolidation exercise was aimed at increasing customers confidence in the banking sector primarily. It is also expected to lead to increase in profitability and higher returns for the shareholders. About 3 years after the completion of the 1st phase of the Consolidation program, this study sought to ascertain if some of this fundamental goals of the Consolidation program have been achieved and to what extent. This study therefore investigated the impact of Bank consolidation and recapitalization program on the cost of equity capital of banks in Nigeria. In other words, the study considered whether bank consolidation reduces the cost of capital of banks or not. In doing this, the study tested the hypothesis that: there is no significant difference in banks mean cost of equity capital before consolidation and the mean cost of equity capital after consolidation.The literatureTheoretical insights on bank recapitalization and consolidation: Generally, capital is needed to support business so therefore, the importance of adequate capital in banking cannot be overemphasized. Capital is an important element which enhances confidence and permits a bank to get involve or engage in banking. A very important function of capital in a bank is to serve as a means of absorbing losses. Capital serves as a buffer between operating losses and being unable to pay debt (insolvency). AsPhillips (1967) has correctly observed, the more capital a bank has, the more losses it can sustain without running into bankruptcy. Capital thus, provides the measure for the time a bank has to correct for lapses, internal weakness or negative developments. The larger size and capital a bank has, the longer the time the bank has before losses completely erode its capital. Apart from capital standing as a protection against losses, adequate capital gives other benefits among which are:•Protection of depositors and creditors in time of failure•Strengthening of bank ability to attract funds at lower cost•Enhances a bank's liquidity positionThe larger the liquidity of a bank, the less the bank is exposed to risk. The difficulty, however is that little skill is rewarded with return in line with observation in finance theory of positive linear relationship between risk and return. Thus while inadequate liquidity will destroy a bank's reputation, excess liquidity will retard earnings. In view of its significance, the regulatory authorities consider capital adequacy a primary index to monitor bank. The traditional measures of capital adequacy ratio are ratio of equity funds to risky assets and ratio of capital funds to risk assets.The minimum capital adequacy ratio as prescribed by Basle committee of central banks' supervision is 8%. This ratio relates capital to what is considered the banks biggest risk namely, credit. The 8% ratio implies that for every N100 credit, a bank needs N8 capital. A lesser ratio shows different degree of capitalization. The Basle committee is a group of international bankers that met to fashion out more stringent way of determining a bank's capital adequacy ratio. In its explanation of relevance of bank's capital base, the committee stated that a capital serves as a foundation for a bank future growth and as a cushion against unexpected losses. Adequate capitalized banks that are well managed are better able to withstand losses and provide credit to consumers and businesses alike throughout the business cycle including during downturns. Adequate capital therefore, helps to promote confidence in the banking system. Bank recapitalization and consolidation offers opportunities for facilitating adequate capitalization of banks.Consolidation is most commonly described as the reduction in the number of banks and other deposit taking institutions with a simultaneous increase in the size and concentration of the consolidation entities in the sector. It is mostly motivated by technology innovation, deregulation of financial services, enhancing intermediation and increased emphasis on shareholder value, privatization and international competition (Berger et al., 1999; De Nicola et al., 2003).The process of consolidation has been argued to enhance bank efficiency through cost reduction revenue in the long run. It also reduces industry's risk by elimination of weaker banks and acquiring the smaller ones by bigger and stronger banks as well as creates opportunities for greater diversification and financial intermediation.Consolidation in a banking system can either be market-driven and government induced. The market-driven consolidation which is more pronounced in the developed countries sees consolidation as a way of broadening competitiveness with added comparative advantage in the global context and eliminating excess capacity more efficiently than bankruptcy or other means of exit. On the other hand, government induced consolidation stems from the need to resolve problem of financial distress in order to avoid systematic crises as well as to restrict inefficient banks (Ajayi, 2005).One of the general effects of consolidation is the reduction in the number of players and thereby moving the industry more toward an oligopolistic market. Consolidation is achieved through merger and acquisition. A merger is the combination of two or more separate firms into a single firm. The firm that results from the process could take any of the following identities: acquirer target or new identity. Acquisition on the other hand, takes place where a company takes over the controlling shareholding interest of another company. Usually at the end of the process, there exist two separate entities or companies. The target company becomes either a division or a subsidiary of the acquiring company (Pandey, 2005).Mergers and acquisitions could raise profits in any of three major ways. First they could improve cost efficiency (by increasing scale of efficiency, scope, i.e., product mix efficiency or X-efficiency, i.e., managerial efficiency), reducing costs per unit of output for a given set of output quantities and input prices. Indeed, consultants and managers have often justified large mergers on the basis of expected cost efficiency gains.Second, mergers may increase profits superior combinations of inputs and outputs through improvements in profit efficiency that involve profit efficiency is a more inclusive concept than cost efficiency because it takes into account the cost and which is taken as given in the measurement of cost revenue effects of the choice of the output vector, efficiency. Thus, a merger could improve profit efficiency without improving cost efficiency if the reconfiguration of outputs associated with the merger increases revenues more than it increases costs or if it reduces costs more than it reduces revenues. Third, mergers may improve profits through the exercise of additional market power in setting prices. An increase in market concentration or market share may allow the consolidated firm to charge higher rates for the goods or services it produces, raising profits by extracting more surplus from consumers without any improvement in efficiency. In summary, banking recapitalization and consolidation is more than mere striking of the number of banks in any banking industry. It is expected to enhance synergy improve efficiency, induce investor, focus and trigger productivity and welfare gains.Empirical evidences on bank recapitalization and consolidation: The empirical literature is divided on the effect of recapitalization and consolidation in improving the performance and efficiency of banks. The studies by Berger et al. (1999) suggest that bank consolidations do not significantly improve the performance and efficiency of the participant banks. In contrast, Berger and Mester (1997), Berger and Humphrey (1992), Allen and Rai (1996) and Molyneux et al. (1996) indicate that there is a substantial potential for efficiency improvements from mergers of banks. However, the prospects for scale efficiency gains appear to be greater in the 1990s than in the 1980s. This finding is ascribed to technological progress, regulatory changes and the beneficial effect of lower interest rates (Berger et al., 1999).According to Shih (2003), the idea underlying the consolidation promotion policy is that bank consolidations should reduce the insolvency risk through asset diversification (Shih, 2003). There are a number of empirical studies which confirm a risk diversifying effect of bank consolidation whether directly or indirectly (Hughes et al., 1996, 1999; Benston et al., 1995; Craig and Santos, 1997;Demsetz and Strahan, 1997; Saunders and Wilson, 1999). On the other hand, Shih (2003) points out the possibility that credit risk could increase in the event a sound bank merges with an unsound one.Case studies evidences suggest that the cost efficiency effects of mergers and acquisition may depend on the motivation behind the mergers and the consolidation process (Rhoades, 1998). Haynes and Thompson (1999) explore the productivity effects of acquisitions for a panel of 93 UK building societies over the period 1981-1993. In contrast to much of the existing bank merger literature, the results indicate significant and substantial productivity gains following acquisition. These gains were observed not to be the result of economies of scale but are found to be consistent with a merger process in which assets are transferred to the control of more productive managements. Similarly, Resti (1998) reports increased levels of efficiency for Italian bank mergers and acquisition, especially when the deals involved relatively small banks with considerable market overlap. Sawada and Okazaki (2004) investigate the effects of policy-promoted consolidation on the stability of the financial system using the data on prewar Japan. It was confirmed that policy-promoted consolidations mitigated the financial crisis by enhancing the ability of the bank to collect deposits, under the condition that the financial system was exposed to serious negative shocks. However, policy-promoted consolidations also had negative aspects as they were accompanied by large organizational costs and decreased bank profitability.Akhavein et al. (1997) examine the efficiency and price effects of mergers by applying a frontier profit function to data on bank mega mergers in the US banking industry. It was reported that merged banks experience a statistically significant 16% point average increase in profit-efficiency rank relative to other large banks. Most of the improvement is from increasing revenues including a shift in outputs from securities to loans, a higher-valued product. Improvements were greatest for the banks with the lowest efficiencies prior to merging who therefore had the greatest capacity for improvement. By comparison, the effects on profits from merger-related changes in prices were found to be very small.Huizinga et al. (2001) analyze the efficiency effects of 52 horizontal bank mergers in Europe over the period 1994-1998, i.e., the period immediately preceding the start of European Monetary Union. They find evidence of substantial unexploited scale economies and large X-inefficiencies in European banking. The dynamic merger analysis indicates that the cost efficiency of merging banks is positively affected by the merger while the relative degree of profit efficiency improves only marginally. However, there was no evidence that merging banks are able to exercise greater market power in the deposit market. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that the bank merger and acquisitions examined in the study appear to be socially beneficial.Vallascas and Hagendorff (2011) analyze with a sample of 134 bidding banks, the implications of European bank consolidation on the default risk of acquiring banks. The Merton distance to default model was employed to show that on average, bank mergers are risk neutral. However for the least risky banks, mergers generate a significant increase in default risk. This result is particularly pronounced for cross-border and activity-diversifying deals as well as for deals completed under weak bank regulatory regimes. In addition, large deals which pose organizational and procedural hurdles, experience a merger-related increase in default risk. The researchers are of the opinion that these results cast doubt on the ability of bank merger activity to exert a risk-reducing and stabilizing effect on the European banking industry.Rationale for bank recapitalization and consolidation in Nigeria: Prior to 1992, the minimum paid up capital requirement for banks in Nigeria was N12 million for merchant banks and N20 million for commercial banks. A review that year moved the requirements to N40 and 50 million, respectively. This level lasted till 1997 when a uniform N500 million minimum capital was introduced. The reason for discontinuing the dichotomy was to allow for a level playing field and the realization that there was no real difference between the capital requirements of the two categories. It was also to prepare the system for the introduction of universal banking. In 2000, the minimum capital was moved to N1 billion for new banks while existing banks were expected to meet this level by December 2002.Total N2 billion minimum paid up capital was introduced for new banks in 2001 while existing banks were given until December 2004 to comply. The reasons for these adjustments include:•Increasing cost of IT and other infrastructure•Comparison with other jurisdictions•Inflation and increasing interest rates•Depreciation of the national currency, the Naira•Strengthening the operational capacity of deposit money banks•Minimizing the risk of distressThere was also the need to curb the spate of requests for licenses which in many cases were not backed with any serious intention. The absorptive capacity of the system was also an issue, i.e. things like the executive capacity to run the banks, supervisory resources, the cut throat competition that was breeding malpractices, etc. Consequently on July 6, 2004, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made a policy pronouncement.The highlight was the increment of the earlier N2-N25 billion with full compliance deadline fixed for the end of the year. The rationale as indicated is that most banks in Nigeria have a capital base of
