President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged the banking and financial services sector to play stronger roles in ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) become “fit for purpose” as well as provide them full support to excel.
He said such financial intermediation would be essential at the time like this when Nigerians are grappling with the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is just as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, revealed that the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp) Plc established in collaboration with the African Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to raise N15 trillion for infrastructure development would be unveiled in October. Emefiele also hinted that the Nigerian International Financial Centre (NIFC) which would act as an international gateway for capital and investments, driven by technology and payment system infrastructure, would also be established within the next 12 months.
The president and the CBN Governor said this at the opening ceremony of the 14th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja.
Buhari hailed institute and the entire banking and finance industry for the commitment towards charting a practical path for economic recovery and transformation of country and Africa in general.
Bihari who spoke virtually said: “I commend the financial services industry for its interventions and contributions towards the promotion of financial inclusion and literacy in our country. And more importantly, the roles played by the banks in fostering economic growth of the country.
“We need you, the banks to drive value creation by developing new technologies, scaling payment infrastructure to serve the diversified economies expected to benefit from this agreement.”
He said technological innovation was also important in the modern business terrain, noting that most transactions now take place online given the advent of the Internet of Things.
He said: “As we continue to progress towards the next frontiers of digitalisation, we must harness all opportunities while being mindful of the inherent risks. For example, the protection of data is now of utmost importance to provide users with more secure access to the online space.’’
Among other things, the president said ongoing efforts to reduce poverty in the country has continued to grow, with 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households, comprising more than 8 million individuals currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer programme, while N300 billion had been disbursed to farmers.
He also said the National Social Register of poor and vulnerable Nigerians had 32.6 million persons from seven million poor and vulnerable households identified, urging the banking sector to play a stronger role in improving livelihoods.
Buhari added: “From this number, 1.6 million poor and vulnerable households, comprising more than eight million individuals are currently benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfer program, which pays a bi-monthly stipend of N10, 000 per household.”
He added that the National Social Investment Programme remained the biggest in Sub-Sahara Africa and one of the largest in the world.
However, at the conference, with the theme: “Economic Recovery, Inclusion and Transformation: The Role of Banking and Finance,” in Abuja, Emefiele further extolled the role of monetary policy as well as the banking sector in ensuring that the economy emerged out of recession by the fourth quarter of the year.
He also said the banking sector must pay attention to providing long-term finance for infrastructure development in the country.
He also said with the decline in revenues due to federal and state governments following the drop in crude oil prices, alternative ways of funding infrastructure would be critical if the country is to generate sustained growth of our economy.
He explain that upcoming InfraCorp would enable the use of mostly private capital to support infrastructure investment that would have a multiplier effect on growth across critical sectors.
He said the purpose of the N15 trillion being raised was to address some of the country’s infrastructure needs, while providing reasonable returns to investors.
The CBN Governor added: “We believe this well-structured fund can act as a catalyst for growth in the medium and long run. The support of the banking community will be important in achieving this objective.”
Emefiele, however, noted that the banking sector had been critical in ameliorating the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians.
The CBN governor maintained that it was imperative from both an economic and security point of view that the banking and financial system continued to support growth in sectors that have significant growth potential, saying it would enhance the resilience of the economy in the face of external shocks.
He pointed out that to consolidate on the growth and resilience of Nigerian banks, the NIFC which he termed a new financial hub, would curate local and international banks to make them global champions.
He further explained that the NIFC would be a 24/7 financial centre that would complement London, New York and Singapore financial centers and enable an acceleration of home grown initiatives including the Infracorp Plc.
According to Emefiele, the NIFC would also complement initiatives on the Nigerian Commodity Exchange and the National Theatre creative hubs for youths as well as the e-naira project which would also debut in October.
