To the President/Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Segun Ajibola, diversification of the country’s earnings is the panacea for economic recession. In this interview with NGOZI AMUCHE, the financial expert advised money bank customers to approach appropriate agencies whenever they feel shortchanged by their banks. Excerpts:
How do you think the banking industry should be sanitised, especially at this time that bank customers are complaining of illegal deduction by the various banks?
Well I don’t know what you mean by ‘sanitise’. All I can say is that there are rules and regulations governing various bank charges. These guiding rules were initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and endorsed by the Bankers’ Committee. Some of the charges are negotiable.
The consumer protection unit is there, the Bankers’ Committee on Ethics also looks at the various charges and monitors the banks too. Apart from that, customers can also make their complaints known to the concerned authorities for action on what they consider a wrongful deduction.
What is the update on the proposed amendment to the CIBN Act of 2007?
We have submitted the bill to the National Assembly and the amendment is proposed in order to sanitise the nation’s banking sector.
The proposed amendment to the Act will bring every practitioner and operator in the banking sector under the Institute’s direct regulation. This proposed amendment deals with our membership.
We want the membership to cover anybody that has something to do with banking and finance in Nigeria, including consultants and members of boards of directors of banks, who could be subject to ethics and professionalism, to come under our umbrella.
Recently, stakeholders advised that commercial banks should beef-up their capital bases in order to weather Nigeria’s economic challenges. What is your take on this issue?
I think it was a good advice. If you look at the value of our currency today, it is not a cheering story. In 2005, when banking recapitalisation was done, the value of the naira to the dollar hovers between N100 and N150. But if you look at the value of the naira today, you will notice that in dollar terms the level of capitalisation has gone down considerably, in terms of dollar equivalent.
So, if we are to maintain the same level of business activity, then it will be necessary to start thinking of such recapitalisation. But you know in an environment like this, the capital market is having its own challenges, potential local and foreign investors are having issues.
So generally, it is very genuine and appropriate to ask the banks to consider enhancing their capital.
What is the Institute’s role in nation’s building?
We are already doing much as an Institute. We are mandated to play some critical roles within the Nigerian state.
In the financial services industry, the CIBN plays advocacy role for all stakeholders and promotes ethics and professionalism among bankers.
The CIBN also collaborates with local and international institutions and bodies to develop capacity building. It also works with universities and polytechnics to develop capacity and certification. We also ensure that the code of conduct in the industry is strictly adhered to, and our benchmarks are not below international standards.
And when there are cases of infraction, we have, by virtue of the provisions of our extant law, a disciplinary tribunal that has the powers of a High Court to discipline erring members.
That, we have done severally. We look for ways of championing the Nigerian project at every opportuned time.
We are very active globally. We are serious about strengthening professionalism and ethics; our enabling Act empowers us to play advocacy roles for stakeholders and to also enforce standards and code of conducts for operators in the banking environment.
As at today, most bank staff has signed our code of conduct, surrendering themselves to disciplinary process and procedures of the Institute.
How can the capital market be encouraged in the areas of wooing local and foreign investors?
I believe the market will rebound. We must be optimistic in our thinking. We are looking up to the operators in the capital market to assist in convincing the whole world about the importance of investing in the Stock Exchange.
As a country, we need to do more than ever. Our export promotion strategies must be taken very seriously. We must diversify our earnings base. The reliance on oil as major source of revenue is too heavy. We need to reduce the significance of oil on our economy
The 22nd edition of the World Conference of Banking Institute, to be hosted by Nigeria in April this year, would be a good opportunity to showcase the country’s potentials. It would be an opportunity to showcase the investment opportunities in the country and to correct certain wrong impressions about Nigeria.
We believe that by the time the world comes here in April, we would be able to present Nigeria to the world. At the end of that conference, we believe we would see an increase in foreign investments in the country.
Can you assess the economy generally?
As a country, we need to do more than ever. Our export promotion strategies must be taken very seriously. We must diversify our earnings base. The reliance on oil as major source of revenue is too heavy.
We need to reduce the significance of oil on our economy. So, if we can start diversifying into agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, and expand our export potential, we would be able to earn more foreign exchange from other sources other than oil. Then we also need to look inward more than ever before.
The challenge, the message is coming to us that we don’t need to rely too much on other countries to feed our population. The various varieties we have in the agriculture sector can feed this population today, if properly organised and well harnessed.
We can rely on ourselves for the provision of basic necessities of life – food, clothing and shelter. And we can de-emphasis a lot of things we import because of our mentality to consume imported items.
