The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has urged the banks to strengthen their cyber-security architecture in order to prevent attacks by fraudsters.
President/Chairman of Council of the institute, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, made the call while delivering his remarks at the 2020 CIBN Fellowship Investiture in Lagos, at the weekend.
The CIBN at its investiture formally conferred its honorary fellowship awards on 19 distinguished bankers in recognition of their contributions to the banking industry and the economy; 77 associates as elected Fellows while 105 senior management staff of banks and the academia became Honorary Senior Members of the institute at the event with the theme: ‘Financial Services in a post COVID 19 Environment: Strategic Imperative’.
Some that were conferred with the award were President, African Development Bank, Dr Adewunmi Adesina; Governor, Bank of Sierra Leone, Prof. Kelfala M. Kallon; President, West African Bankers Association and President Liberia Bankers Association, Mr. John Davies III; GMD/CEO, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Dr. Demola Sogunle; the MD/CEO, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu; MD/CEO, Wema Bank Plc, Mr. Ademola Adebise; MD/CEO, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman; MD/CEO, Providus Bank Plc, Mr. Walter Akpani; MD/CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Limited; Mr. Lamin Manjang; MD/CEO, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa; Board Member, Lead Capital Group of Companies, Mr. Bimbo Olashore; Board Member, Oodua Investment Company Limited, Bimbo Ashiru; former DMD Diamond Bank, Mrs. Caroline Anyanwu, and former Executive Director, Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Ugochukwu Chijioke.
Olugbemi told over six hundred participants who attended physically or connected online, that Nigeria had been bedeviled by myriads of challenges this year ranging from drop in oil price, COVID-19 pandemic, the recent #EndSARS protests and the attendant pocket of unrests across the country and now the recession.
The pace of these disruptive forces and their attendant effects on the financial service system has been intense.
He maintained that the banking industry has remained resilient providing succor for businesses and millions of individuals across the country.
He urged banks to continue to reinforce their Risk Management Framework in tandem with government policies and urge the banks to consider conducting more market research on how customer needs might change in the Post COVID era. This would inform product development and process improvements
Senior Partner, KPMG Nigeria & Chairman, KPMG Africa, Mr. Kunle Elebute, while speaking on the, “New Realities in the Post-COVID World: Strategic Imperatives,” told bankers that Global CEOs were beginning to acknowledge that the new wave of technological advancement comes with risks that cannot be ignored.
The KPMG boss said the effects of COVID-19 would drive new ways of working, new performance metrics and new ways of connecting with and managing employees, well beyond the, “work from home” dimension.
As a result of the pandemic and working in the remote environment, Elebute suggested that new productivity metrics needed to be developed, but without being perceived as intrusive and maintaining a strong culture is as important as ever but much harder, he said
In his intervention, Mr. Ernest Ebi, former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria and Chairman of the event maintained that the banking industry must realise its role in the economic recovery process.
To continue to fill the enormous credit gap and offer customers greater access to requisite financial services, Ebi charged the bankers to look beyond the immediate threat of the pandemic and refocus on understanding their customers’ needs. Banks, therefore, need to adopt new operating models that support rapid and stronger recovery, as well as ensure efficiency and resilience to weather the storm, he said.
