The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

  • Lagos critical to Nigeria’s recovery from recession – Ambode

    Lagos critical to Nigeria’s recovery from recession – Ambode

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday said the State has a critical role to play in taking Nigeria out of the current economic doldrums, just as he harped on the need for partnership between government and the private sector to address strategic challenges confronting the nation.

    Governor Ambode, who spoke at the Lagos House in Ikeja when he received on courtesy visit members of the Governing Council of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), who came to notify the Governor of the hosting right of the 22nd World Conference of Banking Institute to be held in Lagos in April 2017 and other activities of the Institute,  said Lagos, as the economic hub of Nigeria and the West African region, contributes about 70 percent of the financial services in the country, and as such the State was in a good stead to lead the nation out of recession.

    The Governor said the visit by the CIBN Council led by its President, Professor Segun Ajibola was apt as it came at a time that Nigeria was undergoing recession, but the cheering news was that the country was abundantly blessed with a group of people that can actually help the country out of recession, to which many of them are members of the Institute.

    He, therefore, harped on the need for partnership between the government and the private sector, saying: “This is like a clearing call, we need this partnership to  take us out of the doldrums. Irrespective of the fact that Lagos contributes like 70 percent of the financial services in this country and if there is anything that can take us out of recession, it has to start from us and from Lagos.”

    Besides, Governor Ambode said the story of the growth and development of Lagos could not have been completed without the huge contribution of the financial service industry, adding that the sector remained a veritable vehicle that has been able to drive professionals to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the State.

    According to the Governor, “The financial service industry stands out in terms of creating employment for our people, and in terms of contributing to the taxes, and as well creating capacity, and as such it will be unfair not to appreciate and commend everything that the CIBN has actually done to the growth and development of Lagos.”

    Speaking on the hosting right of the World Conference, Governor Ambode expressed excitement at the development, and assured that the State Government will partner with CIBN to use the platform to promote investment potentials in the State, as well as celebrate the 50 years anniversary of the creation of Lagos.

    “Lagos is going to be 50 next year and President of the Council has talked so much about the hosting right of the conference. As a government, we are also trying to brand Lagos as a world class city to live in, and so we will partner and support the conference and list it as part of the events to celebrate Lagos at 50 and use it as a platform to promote financial tourism for the State.

    “Lagos is the financial hub of Nigeria and by extension maybe the West African coast, and the good thing is that the infrastructure we have been able to provide are aimed at allowing businesses to thrive. We are trying our best but the fundamentals remained the fact that the city has to be safe so that businesses can thrive.

    The Governor also expressed readiness to partner with CIBN to create a structured capacity building for State officials with the view to getting a stream of hardworking professionals.

    Earlier, Ajibola commended Governor Ambode for the massive infrastructure development ongoing in the State, especially the improvement on security, the Light Up Lagos Project, ingenious traffic management strategy in strategic locations across the State such as the Iyana Oworo Lay-by, Ketu-Alapere Slip Road, multifaceted Berger expansion projects, Ojota Pedestrian Bridge; road rehabilitation, Light Rail Project, among others.

    “As at today, the banking community is more than happy with the State of security in Lagos State. Our banks are now safer; our ATM locations are safer; we see secured human and properties more than ever before within Lagos and its environs,” Ajibola said.

     

  • CBN re-instates banks banned from foreign exchange market

    CBN re-instates banks banned from foreign exchange market

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has re-instated all the banks that were banned from the foreign exchange market, the Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs Tokunbo Martins, has said.

    She said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a media briefing, stating that the decision was reached after a series of meetings with the body of bank Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

    “Well, we have had engagements with the body of CEOs and they have been interacting amongst themselves and I am happy to tell you today that the banks that were hitherto banned have been released from the ban.

    “And the reason is because all of the banks after discussions and engagements under the auspices of the body of CEOs and the CIBN have all submitted credible repayment plans which we the CBN found acceptable.

    “So as a result of that, all those banks have been re-instated in the foreign exchange market.’’
    The CIBN President, Prof. Segun Ajibola, said that the institute was very much interested in what was happening among all the industry players.

    He added that under the aegis of the institute, the body of bank CEOs was now a formidable platform to look at issues that were pertinent to the industry and the economy, to ensure that stakeholders’ interest was protected.

    “We will protect the interests of all our stakeholders and especially the bigger picture, which is Nigeria and its economy as a whole.

    “So it is a happy development and I believe this will further help to strengthen our system and our economy.’’

    The Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr Herbert Wigwe, said that the body of bank CEOs under the under the auspices of the CIBN, aims to get banks to work together.

    He said that this would ensure that anytime there was a serious issue in the market, bank CEOs could meet to look for a way to resolve them.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that that the CBN had on Tuesday banned nine Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) from the nation’s foreign exchange market for failing to remit the sum of 2.3 billion dollars belonging to NNPC to the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

    The CBN then on Thursday re-admitted the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, saying it had remitted all outstanding NNPC/NLNG deposits in its possession to NNPC’s TSA at the CBN.