Ecobank staff, families set to walk against mental health disorder

 COMFORT EKELEME, BUSINESS EDITOR

All is now set for the various activities to mark this year’s Ecobank Day across 33 African countries where it operates.

Ecobank Day is a flagship annual event when the staff of the pan African bank show commitment and give back to local communities where the bank has operations.

This year’s event scheduled for Saturday 23 October will focus on creating awareness on how to check mental health issues and stop the discrimination against victims of mental health.

Arrangements have been made for staff, their families, customers and members of the community to engage in health walks across the country, health checks and fitness sessions, amongst others.

Head, Marketing and Corporate Communication, Ecobank Nigeria, Jide Sipe in a statement said, this year’s Ecobank Day with the theme: ‘Mental Health – Time to Talk and Act’ marks the start of the final year of the three-year campaign to raise awareness and help prevent Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Africa.

He noted that the bank will be hosting impactful discussion sessions and mental health empowerment training programs to further raise awareness and help reduce stigma and discrimination in Nigeria.

According to him, apart from marking Ecobank Day with a webinar, which is both virtual and physical, the bank has also lined up various activities to enhance the mental status of various Nigerians.

He said, “In the webinar, we will discuss mental health disorders, raise awareness about them, and the care and support options available. We will be encouraging people to talk about their feelings and suggest lifestyle behaviour changes which can also make a difference,  like exercising regularly. There is often a lot of stigma around mental health.

“Those affected can face isolation, exclusion from work and family life, increased stress levels, negative addictive behaviours, and substance abuse. No one should be made to feel ashamed because of a mental health issue. It can happen to anyone at any time,” he said.

Due to the importance of the topic, Ecobank Nigeria has invited select speakers that will be making presentations on the Day.

They include Dr. Olusola Olowookere, Consultant Psychiatrist/ Forensic Medical Examiner; Titilayo Medunoye, Founder/CEO, Milky Express; Oluwakemi Akintoyese, Clinical Psychologist; Hadiza Blell -Olo (Di’Ja, Artist and Humanitarian); Dr. Tomilola Oyekunle, a registered Psychologist and host of others,

Since the inaugural Ecobank Day in 2013, Ecobank employees have supported a variety of causes and shown compassion for the welfare of our various local communities. Previous initiatives have focused on orphanages, cancer screening, education, maternal healthcare, safe water supply and malaria prevention,

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FMDQ Clear becomes an observer member of CCP12

COMFORT EKELEME, BUSINESS EDITOR

FMDQ Clear Limited has been admitted to the Global Association of Central Counterparties 12 (CCP12), representing forty-one members who operate more than sixty individual CCPs globally across the Americas, EMEA, and the Asia-Pacific region, as an Observer Member.

This is in line with its vision to become a globally accepted Premier CCP by 2025. FMDQ Clear Limited is Nigeria’s Premier CCP and a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMDQ Holdings Plc.

FMDQ Clear, which was registered as a CCP by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to provide post-trade services that will enhance the integrity of the financial market and eliminate the inherent counterparty risks therein, whilst facilitating settlement finality, delivering capital and cost efficiencies, and de-risking the Nigerian financial market, recognises the importance of forging alliances with key financial market Associations, both domestic and international, to enhance market development, capacity building and knowledge sharing opportunities and better equip FMDQ Clear to foster growth and development in the Nigerian financial market.

The Chairman, CCP12, Mr. Kevin McClear, and Chief Executive Officer, CCP12, Mr. Teo Floor, stated “we are delighted to welcome FMDQ Clear to our global community. Their ongoing development signals the value of central counterparty clearing across a variety of markets, and we look forward to a successful collaboration.

“CCP12 promotes effective, practical, and appropriate risk management and operational standards for CCPs to ensure the safety and efficiency of the financial markets it represents. CCP12 leads and assesses global regulatory and industry initiatives that concern CCPs to form consensus views, while also actively engaging with regulatory agencies and industry constituents through consultation responses, forum discussions, and position papers,” he said.

Speaking on the membership admission, Managing Director, FMDQ Clear, Mr. Ayodele Onawunmi said, “We are excited to become a member of CCP12, comity of world-class and vibrant CCPs, which provides the platform for global collaboration, engagements, and knowledge sharing that will support the development of the Nigerian post-trade services value chain towards global standards. Our acceptance as an Observer Member of this global body of CCPs is a testament to our commitment to become a globally accepted CCP by 2025.

FMDQ Clear plays a key role in the Nigerian financial market and over the last four years, has provided end-to-end post-trade services for the bespoke Naira-Settled OTC FX Futures (NSOFF) product traded on FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, where it carries out its risk management functions and ensures settlement finality of executed NSOFF contracts.

Following attainment of the much-needed legal framework – bankruptcy remoteness and netting arrangements via the repeal & re-enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, to enable a vibrant and thriving Exchange-Traded Derivatives (ETD) market, FMDQ Clear has commenced efforts to operationalise necessary structures for the activation of CCP services for the soon-to-be-launched ETD and cash markets on FMDQ Exchange.