MoneybyZikoko: Is Your Bank in the Trillion Naira Club?

Vol 63 | 15-01-2024

Good morning, {$name}! 🌞

It’s January 15, and we’re now in the second half of the month. If you’re like me, you are thrilled that salary day is almost upon us. But I learned last week that some people don’t painfully track the days to the 25th. What do I mean?

On January 9, 2024, five Nigerian banks — First Bank, Access Bank, UBA, Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank — closed with a market capitalization of at least ₦1 Trillion each on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The thing about market capitalization is that it represents the total worth of a company as determined by the stock market. It is calculated by multiplying the current market Price per Share by the Total Number of Outstanding Shares of a company’s stock. Here’s a simple formula to understand this: Market Capitalization = Current Market Price per Share × Total Number of Outstanding Shares.

An example: As of Friday, January 12, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) closed with 29.4 billion outstanding shares, and each share price was ₦46.30. If you multiply these numbers, you have ₦1.36 Trillion.

These five banks are now valued at about ₦6.1 Trillion. If you bank with any of them, I know what you are: a Trillionaire by association.🫵

I’ve gotten this out of the way, so let’s look at this week’s stories.

In this letter:

#NairaLife: The #NairaLife of an Unemployed Designer Whose Retirement Plan Is Cocoa Farming
A Very Specific Guide to Understanding How Money Works
Money Meanings: “Assets Under Management”
Game: #HowMuchLast
Where The Money At?!

The #NairaLife of an Unemployed Designer Whose Retirement Plan Is Cocoa Farming

In February 2023, this 25-year-old UI/UX designer had three jobs. A month later, she lost two of them. She’s currently unemployed, but runs a thrift business and YouTube channel. She hopes to add cocoa farming to that list one day.

Read her #NairaLife here.

My key learnings from this story:

It’s important to set boundaries with the people who depend on you. Undoubtedly, black tax is a big part of our financial culture. My personal take, but I think it’s a privilege to have the means to take on this responsibility. That said, I also recognise how debilitating it can get. Setting expectations comes in here. Black tax becomes a considerable problem when it affects other equally important responsibilities. Nothing good comes out of it. I wonder how the lady’s father feels about his extended family depending on him these days.

We talk about income diversification for excellent reasons. Having multiple sources of income — if you can manage them — offsets the effect of unfortunate life events, say a job loss. This lady lost three jobs in quick succession, but having a knack for running businesses and building her capacity in that area propped her up.

Emergency savings. It’s one of the hardest things to build the discipline for. Or maybe I’m just talking for myself. But man, all the good it does makes it worth it. It’s best practice to have three to six months of living expenses. It’s doable, yes? May the Force be with us.

A Very Specific Guide to Understanding How Money Works

Let’s say it as it is: we seem to have a numbers problem. It’s probably why we drop big figures and prices at will. No, no one’s perfume collection is worth ₦7 billion. So maybe we need a refresher on how numbers work.

This is how numbers and money work

Money Meanings

Game: #HowMuchLast

#HowMuchLast is a game where we show you an item and you tell us (and the world) the highest amount you’d pay for it.

Some weeks will be Okin biscuit, some others will be SUVs.

It’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) season. The Nigerian national team started their campain with a draw against Equatorial Guinea. Our next match decides if we’ll have to get the calculators out [you know, for the permutations] But I’m curious, if you had a chance to be in Côte d’Ivoire to support the Super Eagles, how much do you imagine you might spend? So, #HowMuchLast for the AFCON expereince?

What’s the most you’d pay? Tweet at us here.

Where The Money At?!

We can’t say we’re about the money and not actually help you find the money.

So we’ve compiled a list of job opportunities for you. Make sure you share this with anyone who might need it because in this community, we look out for each other.

Again, don’t mention. We gatchu.