The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), on Wednesday in Abuja urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to help fashion a unique identifier just like the Bank Verification Number (BVN) for corporate customers in the country.
This corporation, which only recently achieved the milestone with the payment of N54.62bn to 691,418 depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank, and the declaration of a 9.2 kobo per Naira liquidation dividend to uninsured depositors within a year of closure, said the absence of such unique identifier for corporate customers of banks in the country remains one its major challenges.
Speaking, when he led the newly appointed management team of the corporation, went to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Headquarters in Abuja on a courtesy visit, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Thompson O. Sunday, noted NDIC’s the ongoing efforts to develop a target funding framework, and the difficulty in collecting premiums from insured institutions that do not maintain accounts with the CBN.
Sunday, according to a statement by Hawwau Gambo, Head, Communication & Public Affairs, expressed the willingness of the Corporation to work with the CBN to address these gaps, just as he appealed to the apex bank to consider developing a joint crisis preparedness framework with the corporation towards enhancing crisis management.
The NDIC MD/CE, commended the CBN for its reform programmes under the leadership of Governor Olayemi Cardoso, particularly the stabilization of the forex market as well as the ongoing recapitalization of Deposit Money Banks in the country. He expressed the NDIC’s commitment to aligning its operations with the NDIC Act 2023 (as amended), assuring that the corporation was in the process of embarking on a strategic restructuring to better align operations with its risk minimization mandate as well as developing a new corporate strategy as the one in use was due to expire at the end of this year.
Sunday reiterated the NDIC’s willingness to partner the CBN towards enhancing financial system stability, expressing appreciation for the CBN’s support in premium collection from insured institutions.
Responding, the Governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso congratulated the new Managing Director and Executive Director Operations of the NDIC on their appointments, expressing optimism about the opportunity to deepen collaboration between the two institutions
“Our meeting today is a clear testament to our willingness to work together. The CBN counts on NDIC’s support in navigating the uncertain times that we are in”, Cardoso said, reiterating that the visit underscores the shared commitment of both institutions to strengthen collaboration towards safeguarding Nigeria’s financial system, amidst evolving economic challenges.
Governor Cardoso averred that his two years in office have revealed critical lessons in the financial industry, requiring that the CBN and the NDIC proactively deal with potential shocks by leveraging modern tools for financial stability. He described the visit as timely, urging both institutions to work closely in mitigating risks and ensuring depositor confidence.
Mrs. Rita Sike, the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department of the CBN, in her response, assured that the joint crisis preparedness framework could be dealt with under the auspices of the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC), explaining that the CBN was in the process of enhancing the Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) to integrate the Global Standing Instruction (GSI), which will allow for the on-boarding of Other Financial Institutions (OFIs).
The NDIC team included the Executive Director, Operations, Dr Kabir Katata; Director, Human Resources, Yakubu Shehu; Director, Legal Department, Olufemi Kushimo; and Mrs. Regina Dimlong, Assistant Director, Communications & Public Affairs Department.
The CBN team also included Nnadi Maduka of the Corporate Communication Department and Mrs. Salamatu Jubril- Adeniji of Compliance Department.
