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Total Assets Under Contributory Pension Hit N12.29trn
The total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme rose to N12.29trillion as of the end of November 2020, fiigures obtained from the National Pension Commission (PenCom) on its report on ‘Unaudited report on pension funds industry for the period ended 30 November 2020’ has revealed..
According to the figures, N80.14trillion of the funds had been invested in Federal Government securities.
Other areas where the funds were invested are domestic and foreign ordinary shares, corporate debt securities, local money market securities and mutual funds.
Recently, PenCom disclosed in its third quarter report on ‘Issuance of pension clearance certificates’ that 5,432 employers were cleared for having pension and insurance covers for their workers in the third quarter of 2020.
This compliance allowed them to be able to do Federal Government’s businesses.
Part of the report read, “During the quarter under review, 5,700 private sector organisations applied for issuance of pension clearance certificates.
“Out of this number, 5,432 organisations were issued certificates while the remaining 268 applications were declined for not meeting the stipulated requirements.
“A total sum of N24.98bn was remitted into the Retirement Savings Accounts of 76,498 employees by the 5,432 organisations that were issued with the PCCs.”
PenCom disclosed that 104,736 participants enrolled into the Contributory Pension Scheme within Q3, 2020, out of which 38,235 or 36.5 per cent were between 30 and 39 years.
A further analysis also showed that 37,126 or 35.4 per cent were below 30 years of age.
These statistics pointed to the increasing evidence of the sustainability of the CPS, as the younger generation were actively being enlisted into the scheme, it stated.
On the gender distribution, 64 per cent of the total 104,736 that registered during the quarter were males, sustaining dominance over the female gender.
During the quarter under review, the commission said it generated 2,781 employer codes for private sector organisations, accounting for 98 per cent, while employer codes generated for non-governmental organisations, unions/associations and MDAs under the Federal and State Governments numbered 48 or two per cent of the total.
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.
