President Mohammadu Buhari has urged the banking industry to develop innovative products and services in line with global best practices in order to meet the growing expectations of their customers for best, real-time services.
The President gave the advice on Tuesday at the 15th Annual Banking and Finance Conference with the theme ‘Repositioning the Financial Services Industry for An Evolving Global Context’ organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja,.
Represented at the event by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the President said his administration had, over the past seven years, through various initiatives supported the repositioning of the Nigerian economy within an evolving global context.
Buhari elaborated: “In the new “Global” context, the role and significance of the finance industry cannot be overstated in driving economic prosperity.
“The sector provides opportunities to create SME start-ups, expand existing business interests and create more jobs, thereby pushing the local brand overseas to frontier markets.
“The recently executed African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is a typical reference point. The deal creates a continent-wide market embracing 55 countries with 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars.
“Its first phase, which took effect in January 2021 would gradually eliminate tariffs on 90 per cent of goods and reduce barriers to trade in services. In repositioning itself, the finance sector would serve as an intermediary for lenders and borrowers”, the President added.
According to him, doing this will also create a new ecosystem where Africans can buy and sell their products despite currency disparity as being practiced on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a brainchild of Afrexim Bank.
The president also listed some of his administrations initiatives aimed at repositioning the nation’s economy as including, support of Nigeria’s creative industry, indigenous Small and Medium-sized businesses and the agricultural sector.
He highlighted some of the key socio-economic issues currently being addressed at domestic and global levels to include climate change, dwindling purchasing power due to inflation and insecurity.
On climate change, the president hinted that the Federal Government had initiated plans to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions in the country, adding that by 2030, the government hoped to eliminate Kerosene Lighting as well as Short-Lived Pollutants in the Oil and Gas sector.
Speaking further on the current insecurity in the country, Buhari restated the commitment of his administration to protect lives and property nationwide, stressing that the government will not relent in ensuring a safe and secure environment for citizens as well as productive activities to thrive.
He also spoke on monetary policy measures of the government over the years including the just decided CBN’s Monetary Policy Rates to combat inflation adding that these policies are geared toward mopping up excessive liquidity in the economy while encouraging savings and investment.
In his remarks at the forum, President and Chairman of CIBN, Dr Ken Opara, pointed out that the financial services sector had been transformed with the latest fintech solutions and modern trends, hence the need for operators in the financial services sector to be adaptive to emerging trends.
The banking expert said: “Over 20 years ago, with the internet revolution, we witnessed the emergence of new services, products and companies, which replaced the previous ones.
“Now, we are in the digital age where technology has made a significant impact on every traditional industry, including the financial services industry, thereby transforming financial services with the latest fintech solutions and modern trends” Opara added.
