A professor of Finance, Prof. Ailemen Ikpefan, has advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address the liquidity challenge in the banking sector by reviewing the current N25 billion capital base of Nigerian banks to enable them to compete favourably with their global counterparts.
Ikpefan, from the Department of Banking and Finance, College of Management and Social Sciences, Covenant University, gave the advice recently at the 29th inaugural lecture of the institution in Ogun State.
Tagged: ‘Securing the Financial Health of Nigerian Banks Today for the Future’, Ikpefan lamented the state of the Nigerian banks, stressing that reforming the financial sector remains a major tool for banking soundness.
He noted that a further review of the minimum paid-up capital from the present N25 billion for Deposit Money Banks would significantly enhance their performance and improve their capacity for cross-border businesses.
Ikpefan, who is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, said “Nigerian banks need to be proactive and strategically positioned to be active and not spectators in the emerging world so as to meet international standards and transform the economy.
“In addition, for Nigerian banks to play their proper role in financial services delivery, locally and internationally, the apex bank needs to improve on the framework for operations of banks and non-bank financial intermediaries,” he said.
Ikpefan further said there was a need for CBN to put more emphasis on good corporate governance in order to significantly improve the performance of the Nigerian banking sector.
He urged the regulatory authorities to embrace policies aimed at controlling inflation and priorities fostering financial intermediation, adding that fiscal and monetary policies designed to promote output stability and sustainable growth were good for financial intermediation.
He stressed the need for banks’ management in conjunction with the regulatory authorities to create awareness of digital banking to promote financial inclusion.
Ikpefan also called on the leadership of banks to address mismanagement and fraud, which posed a great threat to the financial health of banks.
In his welcome address, Prof. Abiodun Adebayo, the Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University, said the institution was delighted to present another topical lecture that addressed a fundamental aspect of national and economic development.
Adebayo said the inaugural lecture series was germane and timely in view of the national cash crisis experienced from the execution of the cashless policy of the CBN and Naira redesign.
“The crisis is still unabated as the country and citizens continue to count their socioeconomics losses,” he said.
Adebayo said some challenges such as poor corporate governance, higher levels of non-performing loans, and inadequate and ineffective online banking facilities, among others, had negatively impacted banks and customers’ trust.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
