The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) grew its internally generated revenue from N646.24 million in 2016 to N910.75 million in 2017, representing a growth of 40.93 percent, in spite of the challenging economic environment In the country,, according to the institute’s outgoing president, Segun Ajibola.
He said the year closed with a Net Operating Surplus (NOS) of N385.12 million last year from N231.83 in 2016, reflecting 66.12.percent increase as its subsidiaries reported profits in 2017 though it wasn’t able to cover all the debts the subsidiaries recorded in 2016.
Ajibola disclosed this at the 2017 annual general meeting of the Institute held on Saturday in Lagos.
He said CIBN press, CIBN bookshop and CIBN Center for financial studies that have not been profitable before have been revamped for growth hence the profits being reported.
Ajibola also commended the Federal Government for introducing policies and initiatives to improve the country’s economy, as through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2017, it initiated the Foreign Exchange Policy that stimulated the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
He said : “A Foreign Exchange Window that automatically combated foreign exchange scarcity that distorted trades in the sector was opened by CBN and also in order to facilitate access to finance, in 2017 the Federal Government also assented to the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill and Credit Reporting Bill among others”.
Ajibola asserted that over 10,000 SMEs had been able to access funds using their Movable Assets and Credit Reporting Bill 2017 and the policies are proving effective, as the World Bank Ease-of-Doing-Business Report for 2018 placed Nigeria on 145th position out of 190 countries.
Speaking of the institute, he said building the banking workforce to better standard hasn’t been smooth sailing as the institute is always looking to develop capacity of bankers.
He mentioned the Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBEStB) that was launched at the World Conference of Banking Institutes (WCBI) hosted by the institute in 2017, with more than 20 countries participating,as one body to grow capacity.
“The GBEStB is a voluntary and industry-led board aimed to develop internationally agreed standards for the education of professional bankers and it s our strategic intent which would ultimately enhance and sustain global standards of ethics and professionalism in banking worldwide.
The outgoing CIBN president also said the institute was cooperating with all relevant institutions and agencies to ensure adherence to ethics and professionalism as CIIBN accredited over 30 Tuition Centers and Educational Training Service Providers, and has has a total of 124, 212 members nationwide at at December 2017.
