“Equally worthy of note is the improvement, though slight, being witnessed in the exchange rate of the Naira“
Olushola Okunlade Writes
The President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Bayo Olugbemi has commended the introduction of the country’s first digital currency, eNaira, saying it was part of measures to deepen financial inclusion and integrate millions of unbanked Nigerians into the banking system.
Dr. Olugbemi, who spoke at the 56th Annual Bankers Dinner of the institute, noted that while the modality for the operation of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is being finetuned, the launch of the electronic currency was a step in the right direction.
He commended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele for the innovative introduction of eNaira, saying” I have no doubt in my mind that it is a welcome development and a step in the right direction.
“Equally worthy of note is the improvement, though slight, being witnessed in the exchange rate of the Naira. I wish to call for its sustenance. We are certainly working in interesting times with global growth rate at its lowest and traditional norms being challenged on a daily basis.”
Olugbemi, who was attending his last CIBN dinner as the president of the institute as he would be handing over the mantle of leadership of the institute by May 2022, noted that his tenure builds “on the solid foundation laid by our predecessors, rooted in the tradition of constantly leaning forward into the future.
He thanks members of the Institute for their support in the implementation of the A-TEAM Agenda of his administration. “I want to assure you that the Institute will continue to devote its resources to the development of competencies whilst strengthening observance of ethics and professionalism in the banking industry.
He said traditionally, the Annual Bankers Dinner is the “CBN Governor’s Day” because it affords stakeholders’ the rare privilege of interacting and listening to Mr. Governor as he examines critical issues and fundamentals which have affected the banking industry within the year.
In his keynote address, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele who was the Special Guest of Honour stated that “In less than 4 weeks since its launch, almost 600,000 downloads of the e-Naira application have taken place. “Efforts are ongoing to encourage faster adoption of the e-Naira by Nigerians who do not have smartphones.
“The support of the financial industry will be critical in the ongoing deployment of the e-Naira and efforts are ongoing to encourage continued partnership between the CBN and stakeholders in the financial industry,’’ he said.
The CBN governor noted that building a robust payment system that would provide cheap, efficient, and faster means of conducting payments for most Nigerians have always been the focus of the apex bank.
Emefiele said that total transaction volumes using digital channels more than doubled between 2018 and 2020, as volumes rose from 1.3 billion to over 3.3 billion financial transactions in 2020.
He said that Digital payment channels also helped to support the continued conduct of business activities during the lockdown.
He said the banking sector’s robust payment system has continued to evolve towards meeting the needs of households and businesses in Nigeria, reflective of the confidence in our payment system, indicating that between 2015 and September 2021, about US$900 million has been invested in firms run by Nigerian founders.
Mr. Emefiele also stated that the policies created to ensure stability in the exchange rate saw more transactions flowing through the official Investors & Exporters FX window (I&E FX Window) which raised its average daily Fx turnover to $250 million from $40 million in April 2020.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his remarks stated that bankers “must ensure that the fundamental economic indicators, both micro and macro, of our economy, are a true reflection of what the realities are in the various sectors of the economy.”
Sanwo-Olu said, “We will certainly need to review the traditional economic and monetary models in the face of changing realities and the desire to achieve maximum impact and outcome vis a vis our policy objectives.
“But even as we do this, we must never lose sight of our primary mandates as institutions and organizations. He said the fund’s banks deploy must create jobs, boost exports, build capacity, and guarantee prosperity for significant numbers of our population.
The Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, and Chairman North Central Governors Forum used the forum to donate a facility in Minna, the state capital to the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN) to serve as the North Central Regional Office in other to strengthen the relationship between the Banking industry in Nigeria and the North Central part of the country.
Highlights of the event was the presentation of the various awards to Next Generation Class of 2021 which recognizes a class of young bankers who are excelling and have contributed exceptionally to the industry and economy with your institution; X-factor Award which recognizes a leading female banker breaking the glass ceiling and inspiring a more gender-inclusive Industry was awarded to OlaronkeKing; Affiliated of the year Award which recognizes an industry affiliate/agent whose performance has enhanced the Industry’s goal of financial inclusion was Award to Paystack Payments Limited; Next Generation Customer Award which recognizes a business in an identified strategic sector that has been catalyzed by the industry’s support was awarded to Faith Agro and the COVID-19 Response Banker of The Year Award which recognizes employees that innovatively stepped up beyond the call of duty in the fight against Covid-19, to ensure business continuity despite the scourge of the pandemic was jointly awarded to Ameachi Okobi of Access Bank and Dr. Segun Oghuan of FBN Ltd
The Group Managing Director/CEO of Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Ademola Adebise served as the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the event.
The Annual Bankers Dinner had in physical attendance Commissioner’s of Finance and Budget and planning of various states, Chairmen of Banks, British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, President, IoD; Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria; President of Professional Bodies; Director-General, SEC and his Commissioners; MD/CEOs of banks; Past Presidents and Registrars of the Institute, Diplomats, Captains of Industries, Business leaders, and financial analysts.
The President and Chairman of Council (PCC) of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Dr. Ken Opara has called on internal auditors of banks to embrace technology in discharging their duties as audit experts.
He stated this in Lagos at the annual conference of the Association of the Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN). He said the use of technology in internal audit is no longer controversial, it is the way to go.
Speaking on the theme, “Keeping up with the NextGen in Internal Audit”, Opara said, “The theme, I must remark, is apt and timely. As we all know, the business world is rapidly changing as a result of digitization. The COVID-19 pandemic which ravaged the world in the year 2020 had significant impact on the global economy which led to the accelerated adoption of technological innovation which would have otherwise taken businesses decades to implement”.
Given this development, he said all aspects of businesses were subjected to disruptive innovation, including the internal audit function.
His words, “The emergence of new technologies, changing behaviors of bank customers, changing regulatory requirements, and evolving business models mean that the traditional methods of internal audit may no longer be adequate.
“There are many factors driving the adoption of tech in internal audit including an increase in the volume of data. According to a 2019 report by the ACCA, it is estimated that over 90 percent of the world’s data has been generated since 2016, and significant amounts of it are financial data.
“Other drivers include a shift towards automation and a change in business models as a result of innovation in technology.
“With the increasing use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and automation tools, internal audit professionals must be able to utilize these tools to identify risks and essentially add value to their respective organizations.
However, Opara said the adoption of technology in audit is not without its threats.
“In addition, with increased adoption of technological innovations, businesses should in particular be wary of advanced cyber threats which have significantly increased since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, according to Businesswire, 81 per cent of global organisations experienced increased cyber threats during COVID-19 and 79 per cent of organisations experienced downtime due to cybersecurity risk during peak season.
Secondly, keeping up with NextGen in Internal Audit means, having a deeper understanding of the business domain within which a professional auditor operates.
To be effective, internal auditors, he said, must have a thorough understanding of their organization’s strategy, operations, and risk landscape. This means working closely with other organizational functions, such as Finance, ICT, Risk Management, Compliance, and Operations, to gain a holistic view of the business.
“With this understanding, internal auditors can identify emerging risks and ensure they are adequately addressed. This puts them at an advantage compared to professionals who have not invested time to understand the domain within which they operate”, Opara added.
Central Bank of Nigeria has directed all commercial banks to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays, as part of a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominations.
The apex bank also confirmed the evacuation of banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country.
This latest development was disclosed in a statement signed by CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isa AbdulMumin, in Abuja, on Friday afternoon.
The statement noted that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by commercial banks, for onward circulation to their respective customers, even as it prevailed on banks, to conduct physical operations in banking halls through the weekends.
Excerpts of the statement read: “The CBN has directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines, as well as conduct physical operations in the banking halls through the weekends.
“Branches of commercial banks will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to attend to customers’ cash needs.
“The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country,” it stressed.
The bank, therefore, urged Nigerians to be patient, as the current situation would ease soon, with the injection of more banknotes into circulation.
The authorities have stepped up efforts to end the biting currency scarcity that has inflicted pain on millions of bank customers nationwide, after a Supreme Court ruling, and a proposed protest by Nigeria Labour Congress, scheduled for next week.
Unity Bank Plc has facilitated financial literacy training in thirty-one schools across Nigeria as part of the lender’s activities marking Global Money Week, 2023.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun took part in the programme by facilitating training on financial literacy at Kabayi Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa state on Thursday, March 23.
Represented by the Group Head, Customer Engagement, Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Titilayo Abraham, the participants gained useful insights on wealth creation which have money, saving, investing, and entrepreneurship remain the common denominator.
Left-Right: Aliu Osenimega, Zonal Service Quality Officer, Abuja, and North Central; Anita Wilcox, Unit Head, Service Quality Management; Mrs. Titilayo Abraham, Group Head, Customer Engagement; Students of Kabayi Secondary School, Mararaba; Stellamaris Akamike, BM, Mararaba Branch; Mr. Matthew Obiazikwor, Head, Communications and Brand Management, and Martha Iroh, Relationship Manager, Mararaba Branch during Unity Bank’s facilitation of financial literacy training at Kabayi Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
Mrs. Titilayo Abraham, the representative of the MD/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun facilitating a financial literacy training at Kabayi Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State on Thursday, March 23, 2023, as part of the activities to mark 2023 Global Money Week.
Stressing the need to enhance financial education and financial inclusion, Mrs. Somefun’s interaction with the students was aimed at inculcating basic principles for financial management. Students who stood out in the course of the Training were rewarded.
Global Money Week is a Child and Youth Financial International initiative observed annually in over 178 countries between March 22 and 28 by corporate organisations globally. Financial institutions leverage Global Money Week with several events and activities to inspire children and youth to learn about money, saving, creating livelihoods, gaining employment, and becoming an entrepreneur.
The students of Kabayi Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, displayed Global Money Week props and some gifts received from Unity Bank team after the financial literacy training on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
Unity Bank team in a group photo with the students of Kabayi Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa after the financial literacy training session on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
In Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Banker’s Committee in collaboration with Junior Achievement Nigeria, coordinates the activities for Global Money Week, which sees the participation of financial institutions with nationwide coverage.
