The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CIBN

  • CIBN seeks offshore practice

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has reiterated the need for certified bankers in the country to work in other African countries.

    In a statement, the institute said a communique issued at the end of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) called for an inter-country recognition and acceptance of qualifications and certificates of member countries. This, it said, would encourage and promote mobility of labour as well as skills among banks in the continent.

    It stressed the need for the Alliance of African Institute of Bankers (AAIOB) member institutions to participate in the establishment, programmes and activities of the Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBESB), expected to be launched at the World Conference of Banking Institutes (WCBI) scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya in June, this year.

    It stated that the alliance would periodically conduct professional examination moderation exercises to strengthen examination policies, regulations, curricula and practices with a view to ensuring that quality standards and improvement in candidates’ performance are maintained and adhered to, at all times.

    According to the alliance, “a smooth implementation of the Staff Exchange Programme (SEP), which is aimed at, among other things, to enhance cross fertilisation of skills, bonding, mentoring among member Institutes’ personnel would be vigorously pursued”.

     

  • NEXIM mulls ECOWAS shipping to boost trade

    NEXIM mulls ECOWAS shipping to boost trade

    The Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM) is facilitating the establishment of a regional shipping line that will boost trade flows within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region, its Managing Director, Robert Ungwaga Orya, has said.

    He said this at the investiture and induction of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), while fielding questions from reporters. He said there are huge potential in the sub-region that needed to be harnessed. He regretted that West Africa has the highest transport and logistics cost.

    NEXIM Bank with the mandate of diversifying the external sector of the economy away from the mono-product of oil, has taken several steps as an export credit agency to deepen trade.

    According to Orya, who was presented with Honorary Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), one of such steps is the discovery that trade in the West African sub-region was not growing.

    He identified the movement of goods within the ECOWAS sub- region as part of the challenge, due to lack of efficient sea going vessels. He said Nigerians are not actively participating in the maritime business. According to him, until this is reversed, foreigners will continue to exploit Nigerians.

    “Our exporters will not be able to enhance the volume of non-oil trade flows. So, what NEXIM has done is to find a way of facilitating the setting up of a regional maritime shipping line to be run by the private sector, because it is the private sector that is actually trading,” Orya stated.

    According to him, “If you have to move goods from Lagos to Tema port in Ghana by truck, with all the multiple check points, all the harassments from security agencies, lack of road infrastructure, it will take you like six days. But if you want to move you goods from Lagos to the same Tema port in Ghana, it will take you like 60 days. This is because they will first take our goods to Europe and then do transshipment.”

    He regretted that under that scenario, if a N500 million loan, for instance, is given to a producer who produces 20 containers, before getting products to final consumers, all realisable profits would have been eaten up. The tonnages of goods in the past decades have moved from 4.7 to 13.2 million tones, but nothing has been done to improve the road infrastructure.

    “We believe that for us to have a safe and sound banking environment we need to have professionalism and the CIBN are doing quite a lot in this direction. They are ensuring that members of the institute apply ethics and professionalism in running the banks. He said the recognition by CBN was a great exposure.

    “It is an exciting moment for me and I want to say that it will spur me to build capacity of the younger bankers. I think we need to leave a legacy. It will spur me to do more in capacity building to ensure that professionals who will take after us are well equipped,” he stated.

    Though the CIBN has come up with an Act, the NEXIM boss wants the institute to step up enforcement of the Act. However, he believes the enforcement of the Act requires collective effort. The success of NEXIM in the past few years has been meteoric. NEXIM, under the leadership of Orya, has seen a rapid and sustained transformation that has changed the fortunes of the bank since 2009.

  • CIBN, regulators collaborate

    CIBN, regulators collaborate

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) is partnering with key stakeholders and institutions to ensure that the banking sector attains the highest level of professionalism.

    A statement from the Institute said it would continue to partner with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure that bankers do their work diligently.

    The Institute also said it was partnering with Unity Bank Plc and other government and private bodies within and outside the country to take the Institute and the banking profession to greater heights.

    The President/Chairman of Council of the Institute, Mr Segun Aina, stressed the need to partner with relevant stakeholders on capacity building and training of staff in the banking industry as well as other sectors of the economy in order to enable the country realise her millennium goals aspiration. Aina spoke during the Institute’s dialogue with key stakeholders in Abuja.

    He urged EFCC, CBN and Unity Bank to engage the services of the CIBN Practice Licence holders and other well experienced professional bankers for their consultancy services, debt recovery, forensic audit, training and other services.

    Aina asked EFCC to support the establishment of commercial courts to fast-track cases involving banks and their customers as well as enforce the Dud Cheque Offences Act to checkmate dud cheque crimes.

  • CIBN partners regulators, banks on professionalism

    CIBN partners regulators, banks on professionalism

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), is partnering with key stakeholders and institutions in the country to ensure that the Nigerian banking sector attains the highest level of professionalism.

    A statement from the Institute said it would continue to partner with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to ensure that bankers carry out their work diligently.

    The institute also said that it was partnering with Unity Bank Plc and other government and private bodies within and outside the country with a view to taking the Institute and the banking profession to greater heights.

    The President/Chairman of Council of the Institute, Mr. Segun Aina, stressed the need to partner with relevant stakeholders on capacity building and training of staff in the banking industry as well as other sectors of the economy in order to enable the country realise her millennium goals aspiration. Mr. Aina stated this during the Institute’s dialogue with key stakeholders held in Abuja.

    He encouraged EFCC, CBN and Unity Bank to engage the services of the CIBN Practice Licence holders and other well experienced professional bankers for their consultancy services, debt recovery, forensic audit, training and other services.

    He urged EFCC to support the establishment of Commercial Courts to fast-track cases involving banks and their customers as well as enforce the Dud Cheque offences Act to checkmate incidences of dud cheque crimes in banks.

     

     

     

    “EFCC should collaborate with the Institute on the enforcement of the Dud cheque Act and the Commission should ensure that banks get timely feedback on their returns to the regulatory agencies,” it added.

    While noting the Institute’s proposals, The Chairman of EFCC Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, observed that the banking profession has improved tremendously. “The banks have done a lot in the area of know your customer (KYC) and there is need for them to also improve in other areas in other to sustain confidence in the industry”, he said.

    CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said both parties should work closely by harmonising ideas and efforts in order to ensure that the industry is not divided on approach on issues affecting it and the economy.

    “There is the need to bring in people with sound knowledge on critical financial market issues”, Sanusi said.

    On the other hand, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Unity Bank Plc, Mr. Ado Wanka, noted that the Institute’s initiatives, especially capacity building, staff training and competency framework would go a long way in closing the gaps in the banking industry. “It will make the industry more responsive and competent for the good of the economy, said Wanka.