Let me swap my phone OS!

Going back the computer memory lane, I can state categorically that the success that the PC had in changing the world (the PC really changed the world) is mostly due to the flexibility and interchangeability of its different components. That kudos belongs to the IBM guys who, surmounting all obstacles, brought out the IBM PC and its standards all within 1 calendar year.

I love Apple products, and they definitely started before the PC but their closed approach to the PC thingy is frustrating and stifles progress including theirs.

Where is my rambling taking me to? Not too far. The mobile phones of these days are much more powerful than PCs of not too far ago. In fact, I believe that sometimes in the near future, there would be a convergence where mobiles would be the PCs. Don’t laugh at me; computers before the PCs were as big as trucks!

However, the mobile guys are following the same route of Apple. They are semi-open and have APIs for guys like me (did I say me?) can write our applications on them. These phones run OSes from Microsoft, Symbian, etc but these OSes are so coupled/glued to the hardware that is it almost impossible to replace it with something else. In the PC world, I can have Linux, UNIX, Windows (and its flavors) running on just any PC happily as long as I can get the drivers. I can even get them to dual-boot! Why can’t I have same on my phones?

I had a Nokia E70. A beautiful phone albeit so slow you would end up smashing it up. I just thought why can’t I dump the Nokia idiotic OS and put in say a Linux?

Google is doing Android, an open platform which would solve some bits of these madness but what I dream about is when there can be 100% interchangeability of phones and the OS running them.

Nokia Caller ID Bug

This would never happen to a lot of people but if know two guys having almost the same number, your Nokia phone might mix their names up.I got to know about this from where I worked before; we got two phones from two different networks. Both phones had the last 7 digits same. I was using one of the phones but if the other fella using the second phone calls some people I know, my name shows up on their Nokia phones. I have tried to see if same things applies on Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola, bla bla but it looks like it is Nokia’s cross for now. Obviously, it is matching the last 7 digits.

Now, on my E90, if I dial a number say 08031234567 which doesn’t exist it shows the name of Mr. Jones with number 08021234567 who is a contact on my phone.

Crazy isn’t it?

February 29: How does it feel to be born that day?

I have never met anyone born on this date but it must be horrible especially if you are girl because you would never do the 1st birthday. Same for the 5th, 10th, 15th, 18th and (blah!) 21st. By the time you come around to do a proper one, 40th, you are already going down the slope and when 60th comes, you have probably gone through 2 tummy tucks, 3 breast augmentations and your grand kids would be wondering if you are silly.

Well, it is a crazy thought.

December 31 FYE: Implications for the Nigerian banks

 With the drive of the current administration of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to take the Nigerian financial sector to be at par with international standards, the recent pronouncement for all banks to have the same financial-year-end comes as no surprise. In more sophisticated economies, the financial institutions usually close their books at the end of the fiscal year. With this, regulators, analysts, investors and other gamut of interested parties in between have a clear cut idea of what their economy is doing.

The last 3 years since the CBN handed down the shore-up-your capital declaration, the financial sector, especially the banking industry, has witness a rapid growth. But that hasnt come without its own baggage of issues. With banks closing their FYE at different times, each was clamming one flag-post position or the other while the average Joe sits there bewildered; not knowing who is where.

The new FYE directive will solve that problem once and for all. 

For one, competition would be keen and cut-throat. Now that the end has come for year-end-deposits balances would be adjusted by markets which would now force bankers to look for deposits more aggressively. Competition is not really a bad thing as customers could now call the shots. Since deposits would be in short supply, any bank that wants to close the year on a positive note must find a way to delight its customers. 2009 would probably be a good year to be a banks customer. This could induce an increase in deposit rates; forces of demand and supply, with demand outweighing supply.

Also, this would definitely sieve the big players from the fringe players. The top ten positions would be keenly contested and there would probably be severe punishments for any bank caught in the bottom 5.

Since every bank would be closing its book by December 31st, industry pundits, and the rest of us mere mortals, can at last know the real size of the Nigerian economy. Massive account to account from one bank to another for year end is about to come to an end, the winner truly takes it all. Since the CBN depends on the figures provided by banks for year end to determine the size of banked funds in the economy, this would give us an accurate snap shot of where we truly are.

Another winner here is the NDIC. The NDIC takes an insurance premium from every bank based on the size of their deposits by December 31st. Legends have it that December 31st usually has banks recording the lowest deposit in the year which miraculously increases few months after. This is the time for NDIC to take its own pound of flesh.

The biggest question of all is how will the few heavy weight auditing firms be able to handle the 23 banks within 2  3 months when their books are due to be submitted to CBN for vetting? How will the CBN audit all these banks at once? Does that mean that there would be a scramble to employ more auditors?

This is really an interesting time.

The Start of a New Era

Today is my last day at First City Monument Bank Plc. That marks the end of an exciting 2 years of challenging and rewarding work at one of Nigeria’s finest banks.

The guys here are simply wonderful to work with. People are nice and they actually greet you and my colleagues are my friends.I was also lucky to handle some very interesting projects which have enlarged my understanding of so many things. But I have to go.

I am going to start my own business doing technology consulting, sales and writing enterprise applications for financial organizations. It is called TechnologyMBP which stands for Technology Makes Business Perfect. Now that am my own boss, I guess I am free to give myself pay rise every 2 months… (that would be fun!).