CIBN

Lagos, Nov. 21, 2023: The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has sought the collaboration and support of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc for the proposed amendment of the CIBN Act of 2007.

The President/Chairman, CIBN, Dr Ken Opara, said this during the closing gong ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the institute at the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX), on Monday, in Lagos.

The proposed amendment will expand the scope of the CIBN’s regulatory authority to include all practitioners and operators in the banking sector, among others.

Opara also expressed the institute’s desire to collaborate with the NGX to promote ethical business practices in the Nigerian capital market.

He said: “So, it is very important that collaboration with this very important institution will continue as much as possible to drive that.

“We will continue to foster relationships with the NGX Group because collaboration is at the heart of what we do.

“We have done that with FinTech, we have partnered with the Lagos Business School for dual qualification.

“We have just signed a trade certification with the African Export–Import Bank to run a joint specialised certification programme and capacity building in the area of trade for the players and operators in the ecosystem.’’

Speaking on the institute’s achievements, Opara said the CIBN had consistently built competent and ethical banking professionals globally, in line with its vision of becoming a global reference point for skills and conduct in the banking and finance industry.

He said the institute’s Banking Professional Examinations was currently being written in six African countries in Africa namely Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia.

Opara added that the institute had witnessed a quantum leap in its membership numerical strength adding over 20,000 members in one year with 84 per cent of this number below 27 years.

This, he said, collaborated with his FUTURE agenda as the 22nd President of CIBN, among other achievements.

The Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, Mr Oscar Onyema, who welcomed the CIBN team, said the exchange recognises the CIBN contribution to the overall ecosystem of the Nigerian capital market.

Speaking on the demutualisation of the NGX, Onyema the exchange had transformed into a non-operating holding company with three subsidiaries due to demutualisation.

According to him, this has made the exchange a fully owned shareholder entity, whose objective is to create value not just for the stakeholders and partners, like CIBN, but for the shareholders of the company.

“The exchange recognises your partnership in all that we have been doing in creating the right ecosystem from the Nigerian capital market.

“We are slightly above 60 and 60 is an elder anywhere. But the exchange recognises the contribution of the CIBN to the overall ecosystem of the Nigerian capital market and we are truly delighted to welcome you today to the Nigeria Exchange Limited,’’ he said.

Onyema was represented by Mr Jude Chiemeka, the Executive Director, Capital Markets, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.

The President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIBN), Mr Oluwole Adeosun, described the meeting as a historic event.

Adeosun said it showed the nexus between the financial institution and the entire financial ecosystem of Nigeria.

He said: “the CIBN working with the CIBN and the NGX, and other exchanges will be able to make the very best of our financial system.

“Once the confidence in our financial system is continuously there as a reassurance to the community of investors, we will keep on mobilising, we will keep on giving them the necessary confidence to keep on investing in this economy and not to take their money out the other way.

“So, cooperation is necessary. We will keep on working towards it, and sustain it to make sure that we constantly create value to our customers and investors.”

Lagos, Aug. 20, 2023: The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has commended President Bola Tinubu for unifying the Naira exchange rate to save the country from financial crisis.

The President/ Chairman of Council of CIBN, Dr Ken Opara, said this at the 2023 Lagos Bankers Night with the theme, ” Exchange Rate Unification: Glocal Implications, Organisation’s and the Country “, on Friday night in Lagos.

According to him, the institute has always advocated transparency and a free market that would allow the interplay of supply and demand.

He said, “The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria totally supports the Central Bank of Nigeria’s reform as it relates to the unification of the exchange rate and other measures basically taken to ensure the true value of the Naira.

“As a matter of fact, we have been advocating for this and during the week, Dr ‘Biodun Adedipe, leading other scholars, and Mr Laoye Jaiyeola of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, gathered at the Bankers House to applaud the reform, especially as it relates to the unification of the exchange rate.

“We have seen that the effort that the Central Bank of Nigeria has initiated is already yielding dividend.

“We can see that the exchange rate between the Naira and the dollar has started coming down which means it is a good initiative that is well thought out.”

Opara said that the institute recently organised a half year economic review, where captains of industries also spoke in support of the reform.

He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the good opportunities that the reform had presented, saying wherever there are challenges lie in opportunities.

The CIBN president pledged the institutes continued commitment to making contributions and suggestions relating to what should be done to support and grow the country.

He said, “As it is the concept of the industry; we played this role very well when the industry was facing challenges and we will continue to do that because we believe that the banking industry is very solid, stable and efficient.”

He described the payment system in Nigeria as “the best” all over the world, stressing that it is a system that one could consummate transactions on an online real-time basis.

Opara said this showed that the banking industry and its regulator had done well in stabilising what an effective payment system.

He debunked media reports that its Lagos branch was not in support of the exchange rate unification, describing as “untrue”, but calculated to cause panic.

Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd. (BAA Consult), Dr ‘Biodun Adedipe, said that the exchange rate unification, which was not new in Nigeria, had gone through the route before with different appellations.

“Let me trade very quickly what I brand as Nigeria’s journey to exchange rate unification.

“Nigeria has gone through this route before but with different appellations like devaluation, correction, alignment, depreciation, all of which are matter of semantics.

“The simple interpretation of this is to remove the premium on the official rate and the parallel market or road side market.

“Of course, this is a typical Bretton Woods recipe; keep premium within five per cent to decentivise round tripping and then find liquidity to sustain it.

“This is the easy way out; but, it never brings enduring solution to the persistent crisis in the external sector of the Nigerian economy.”.

According to him, there are 54 evidence-based research documents to establish that free float is not always the most appropriate for all economics.

Giving historical illustrations, the expert noted that exchange rate movements had a more significant impact on all other prices more than interest rates adjustment.

He said the only period that Nigeria experienced a successful and stable rate convergence in the country was when it had a significant external reserve.

Adedipe said it took the country an average of two to six weeks for the parallel market rates to diverge from the official exchange rate during each episode of premium removal.

He added that speculative attack on the currency occurred each time there was no clear sight to a stable and enduring supply.

President Bola Tinubu, had during his inauguration on May 29, said his administration would seek to bring the different exchange rate regimes being operated across the country’s foreign exchange channels under a single regime.

However, in June, Tinubu through the Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, Dele Alake, announced the implementation of a unified exchange rate to save the country from a financial crisis.

He emphasised that his decision to implement a managed float, similar to his approach to fuel subsidy removal, was in the best interest of Nigeria.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has promised that the industry will deliver exceptional value to stakeholders in 2023.

The CIBN President and Chairman, Dr Ken Opara, gave the assurance while delivering his welcome remarks at the ninth National Economic Outlook titled: “Implications for Businesses in 2023,” on Tuesday in Lagos.

Opara said that the institute fulfilled series of achievements in 2022, which propelled it to attain its vision in being a global reference point for skills and conducts in the banking and finance industry.

He said that the institute had created a Governance and Ethics Certification and Entrepreneurship Certification to achieve stronger ethics and professionalism in the banking and other financial services.

“Driving financial innovation and transformation in the industry through initiatives such as Digital Transformation, and Fintech certification while optimising technology for financial inclusion and growth.

“Expansion of Trade and Finance Collaboration with AFREXIM, IFC and other relevant agencies to position banks and Nigeria business community to take advantage of emerging opportunities, especially around the AfTCA corridor.

“The Remote Online Proctoring Platform was introduced and successfully implemented for our certification programmes in October 2022.

“The completion of six legacy projects in six linked institutions across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria,’’ he said.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Risk Managers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) on Saturday inducted 37 candidates into its Certified Risk Manager (CRM) Certification programme.

The ceremony, which had the theme, “Enterprise Risk Management and Organisational Efficiency,” took place at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

The inductees are: Ademola Vida Komo, Adeniji Oluwaseun Omotayo, Ashiante Orukpe Emmanuel, Aina Babatunde Jamiu, Ajiroba David Oluwagbemiga, Babayo Dalhatu, Badru Azeez Abiodun, Boluwade Daisi Ezekiel, among others.

Dr Ken Opara, President/Chairman of CIBN, while congratulating the inductees, described their induction as “the beginning of their journey.”

He said, “you have given a good account of yourselves by balancing your studies, work, and other personal responsibilities successfully. You have added another feather to your cap and this calls for celebration.

“Given the current socio-economic climate, your skills and expertise are in high demand as organisations need to respond to the emerging risks occasioned by disruptive innovations in the market place.

“The 4th Industrial Revolution, characterised by the adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, blockchain, cryptography, Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and cloud computing, has caused disruptions in the ecosystem.

“These new technologies have paved way for enhanced services, therefore enabling organisations to reach wider customer base.”

Meanwhile, Dr Ezekiel Oseni, RIMAN President, said risk management was more on the centre stage since the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that organisations were more conscious of how it was embedded in their structures.

“It is, therefore, imperative that to improve organisational efficiency, risk management has become an integral part of the decision making.

“Risk management objectives and organisational performance has, therefore, become an important process for organisations to survive.

“It is in line with this that today, organisations are expected to align their risk management objectives, risk approach, risk management framework, risk exposure impact, among others, to achieve excellent performance/efficiency.

“This has become pertinent in view of the global business environment that has witnessed uncommon challenges. Organisations are managing through unpredictable, and crisis prone business environment with attendant risk ramifications,” he said.