Business
Market Operators Task Insurance Firms On Awareness
If quoted insurance firms are to achieve improved performances in their financial scorecards, there will be a need for intensive awareness for Nigerians on the importance of insurance policies, dealing members on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange have advised.
They noted that many Nigerians do not believe that insurance business is ptrogressing in the country, while quoted firms in the sector are not known for good dividends.
Mr Emeka Madubuike, Chief Executive Officer of Compass Securities and Vice Chairman Association of Stock Broking Houses Owners of Nigeria (ASHOU) said the Insurance firms would have to go extra miles to convince Nigerians on the need to embrace Insurance.
“There is need for education on insurance to ensure penetration. Many Nigerians still believe in African Insurance and that is why Insurance business is at low ebb in the country,” he said.
Anothar senior broker on the floor noted that performance of the quoted insurance firms and their dividend payout over the years have shown that the industry is still lagging behind. He added that, apart from the need to create awareness on insurance policies, the companies needed to restrategise and come out with innovative products that would attract Nigerians.
Speaking on the floor of the Exchange recently a Director in Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc, which was recently listed, Mr. Tosin Runsewe, confirmed that insurance penetration in Nigeria is still very low because many people have yet to realize the importance of insurance. According to him, the insurance industry in the country is currently contributing only 0.6% to the nation’s GDP, adding that out of about 150 million population only one million people have insurance cover.
He however, expressed the hope that the industry would soon grow as stakeholders embark on enlightenment and awareness campaigns.
“Opportunity for growth is enormous in the industry, especially for those who will invest in strategic areas, and as we strive to create more awareness, the huge untapped market will be explored,” he said.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
