By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello has enjoined financial institutions to complement the efforts of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN by providing finance at favourable rates to innovative and hardworking Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the 12th Annual Banking and Finance conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers, CIBN with the theme: “The Future of Nigerian Banking Industry-360 Degrees “, in Abuja, the Bello said “with the creation of wealth in the society, every body ultimately wins including the provides of funding”.
The minister who was represented by a director in the ministry, Mr Kevin Ike, said the FCT Administration was willing to work “with the providers of finance on favourable terms for the provision of critical infrastructure required to meet the needs of one of the fastest growing cities in the world”.
” This is where the role of the banking industry becomes critical. The intervention of the apex bank in the agricultural sector is clearly yielding dividends and with sustainability over the next few years, that sector could become the mainstay of the Nigerian economy as it once was.
” The Nigerian economy, now, perhaps more than ever, requires the innovation, expertise and above all, fund injection into the critical sectors to set our country back on the path of growth and prosperity.
“After exiting from a recession through the prudent management of resources and careful financial planning by President Muhammadu Buhari, it is an often spoken fact that we do not slip back into economic uncertainty, there is an urgent need to create an enabling environment for small and medium scale industries to not only sprout but grow and flourish”, Bello added.
Also speaking, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele charged the banking sector to live up to its core responsibility of stimulating the economy by advancing credit to the real sector to create jobs for teeming Nigerians population.
He warned that the era whereby banks practiced what he termed as armchair banking- deploying their assets in fixed income instruments particularly treasury bills and bonds- at the expense of the real sector, was over.
He further noted that the era of non performing loans (NPLs) which had plagued the banking industry was now a thing of the past as anyone who benefits from any facility must have to pay back- and called on the judiciary for support towards this direction.
Represented by CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Joseph Nnanna, the Governor said unemployment remained the biggest challenge in the country and appealed to the industry to assist government in addressing the challenge.
He said:”Talking about transformation, banking in Nigeria has come a very long way. Today, with our new generation banks, the players of this space are digital in nature. We have gone beyond armchair banking where players play safe.
“Today, the CBN is calling on the banking system to be alive to its responsibility. We cannot conceive an economy without banks and neither can we conceive banks without an economy.
“What do I mean by this? What I am simply saying is that the days of armchair banking, playing in the treasury bills space- those days are right behind us. The Central Bank of Nigeria is bullish and we have in fact, taken our responsibility very seriously.”
The apex bank boss said:”In the past months, we have come with new initiatives: the loans to deposit ratio is aimed at transforming liquidity management into risk asset management and asset transformation.
“We do not want the banks to be money changers. Banking is not banking if you only play in the government fixed income space. Banking becomes meaningful when you take liquidity excesses from your surplus centers and channel them into scarce areas, that way you are transforming liquidity into assets and you are growing the economy and creating employment.”
He said:”Talking about employment, employment is the most serious issue facing our country and this is where banks must play a critical role.
We must support government in asset creation, we must support the government in creating jobs for the teeming population.
“That is why we implore banks to ensure that idle liquidity is transformed into asset creation. We have also tried to derisk the banking industry. The days of non-performing loans are behind us and we call upon the judiciary to assist us in this regard.
“We shall lend to borrow in the old fashion way, by paying back when we have accessed facility from the banks. So, in the 21st century, can we still be doing banking business as if we were in the 18th and 19th century? The answer is no.
“As Nigerians, the future of our country is in our hands and that future must be defined by the banking industry. Without money, we go nowhere in any economy in the world. With money we can go places”.
