…As CBN Governor Seeks Corporation’s Support On Risk Mgt
The newly appointed Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) management team has restated the corporation’s commitment to the nation’s financial system stability in line with its statutory mandate.
The new NDIC management, led by the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Thompson Sunday, made the promise on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
In his welcome remarks, the apex bank governor congratulated the Managing Director and the Executive Director Operations on their appointments and described the visit by the NDIC team to his office as desirable for the two institutions, especially in the on-going efforts by the CBN to navigate the current uncertain times in the nation’s economic space.
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Cardoso said: “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.”
He reiterated that the NDIC team’s visit underscored the shared commitment of both institutions to strengthen collaboration towards safeguarding Nigeria’s financial system, amidst evolving economic challenges.
Cardoso explained that his two years in office had 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 NDIC’s visit as timely, urging both institutions to work closely in mitigating risks and ensuring depositor confidence.
Earlier in his address, the NDIC MD/CE commended the CBN for its reform programmes under the leadership of Cardoso, particularly the stabilization of the forex market as well as the on-going recapitalization of Deposit Money Banks. He stated that the NDIC was committed to aligning its operations with the NDIC Act 2023 (as amended), explaining 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 the current year.
The deposit insurance expert reiterated the NDIC’s willingness to collaborate with the CBN towards enhancing financial system stability, expressing appreciation for the CBN’s support in premium collection from insured institutions.
Sunday listed some of the recent achievements of the corporation in recent months as including the payment of N54.62 billion to 691,418 depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank, and the declaration of a liquidation dividend of 9.2 kobo per Naira to uninsured depositors within a year of closure and the on-going efforts to develop a target funding framework.
The NDIC Chief Executive listed some of the challenges of the corporation as the absence of a unique identifier such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN) for corporate customers and the difficulty in collecting premiums from insured institutions that do not maintain accounts with the CBN.
While expressing the willingness of the corporation to work with the CBN to address these constraints, the Managing Director also appealed to the CBN to consider developing a joint crisis preparedness framework with the corporation towards enhancing crisis management.
In her remarks, the CBN Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mrs. Rita Sike, said that the joint crisis preparedness framework could be dealt with under the auspices of the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC), hinting that the CBN is 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 comprised the Executive Director, Operations, Dr Kabir Katata; Director, Human Resources, Mr. Yakubu Shehu; Director, Legal Department, Mr. Olufemi Kushimo; and Mrs. Regina Dimlong, Assistant Director, Communications & Public Affairs Department.
