BLACKSOLVENT FINANCE NEWS | 29TH SEPTEMBER,2025
Rewiring Finance: From Policy Shifts to Digital Payments
The financial world is undergoing a quiet but decisive transformation. In Nigeria, regulators are loosening monetary policy for the first time in five years, signaling a pivot toward growth. Globally, asset managers are pushing into private credit and trade finance, seeking stable returns beyond volatile markets. At the same time, blockchain-based payment systems are attracting fresh capital as the next frontier of global settlement. Together, these moves highlight a finance sector in transition balancing policy shifts, investment strategies, and technological reinvention to meet the demands of a new economic era.
Nigeria Cuts Policy Rate for First Time Since 2020
BY BLACKSOLVENT NEWS
In a landmark decision, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reduced its benchmark interest (lending) rate by 50 basis points to 27% on September 23, 2025.
This is the first time the rate has been lowered since 2020. The move comes amid a backdrop of easing inflation August 2025 saw Nigeria’s headline inflation drop to 20.12% year-on-year, continuing a steady downward trend over five months.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the cut was motivated by the expectation that inflation will continue to decline and that there is a pressing need to stimulate economic growth. Given that raising interest rates had been a strategy in 2024 (amid inflation spikes driven by currency devaluation, subsidy removals, and other reform measures), this easing marks a shift in monetary stance.
Analysts are watching closely to see how this change will affect borrowing costs, business investment, and consumer spending. The rate cut is seen as necessary to reduce costs of credit, especially for small and medium businesses, though some worry that inflation might rebound or that foreign capital flows might be affected if interest rates elsewhere remain more attractive.
HSBC Asset Management Launches Private Credit Strategy in Trade Finance
BY BLACKSOLVENT NEWS
HSBC Asset Management, which oversees around US$808 billion in assets, has partnered with its parent bank to roll out a new Trade and Working Capital Solutions strategy.
The aim is to invest in trade finance instruments
including receivables finance, payables finance, and trade loans which help companies manage supply chains and cash flow. As global trade and supply chains face pressure from inflation, tariffs, and geopolitical risk, there is a growing institutional investor demand for more stable private credit opportunities.
The strategy will be managed by HSBC’s Capital Solutions team and will be made available to institutional investors across Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East. Given that instruments like trade receivables tend to offer uncorrelated returns to the more volatile public markets, this approach is appealing for diversification.
This move is part of a broader trend in finance: large asset managers are increasingly looking at private credit and working-capital finance as areas of opportunity, especially in times when equity markets or bond yields are less predictable.
Fnality Raises $136 Million for Blockchain-Based Payments Growth
BY BLACKSOLVENT NEWS
Fnality, a firm specialized in blockchain-enabled payments, recently closed a Series C funding round totaling $136 million. Key backers include major banks and financial institutions such as Bank of America, Citi, WisdomTree, Temasek, and Tradeweb, among others.
The funding will be used to expand its payments network beyond its existing offerings. One product already launched is the Sterling Fnality Payment System in the UK (December 2023), which supports digital central bank transaction settlement.
With this funding, Fnality aims to push forward in providing near-real-time, always-on payment settlement solutions, reducing friction and improving efficiency in global payments infrastructure. The idea is to help shift more institutional and cross-border payments onto blockchain-based rails, which proponents believe can reduce costs, settlement times, and operational risk.
This investment is especially notable because it comes during a period when many fintechs are facing tighter capital, signaling investor belief in the potential of fintech infrastructure over consumer-facing apps.
