By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says reforms in the banking sector are strengthening the capacity and resilience of Nigerian banks to support sustainable economic growth.
The Director of the CBN’s Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, stated this at the CBN Listens Programme in Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to a statement on Friday by thw bank, she identified the successful completion of the banking sector recapitalisation programme as a major milestone in the Bank’s reform agenda.
According to her, the exercise has strengthened banks’ capital adequacy, capacity and competitiveness, positioning them to provide greater support for economic growth and development.
Sidi Ali said the reforms form part of the CBN’s broader efforts to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen financial markets, improve transparency and build public confidence in the economy.
She also highlighted foreign exchange market reforms, including exchange-rate unification and the introduction of the Bloomberg BMatch trading system, which she said were designed to improve transparency, efficiency and confidence in foreign exchange transactions.
The CBN director further cited measures to strengthen liquidity management and monetary policy transmission, including the implementation of a 75 per cent Cash Reserve Ratio on non-Treasury Single Account public sector deposits.
She said the Bank had also introduced the Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate in collaboration with the Financial Markets Dealers Association to provide a transparent, market-based benchmark for short-term funding transactions.
On financial inclusion, Sidi Ali said the CBN would continue working with financial institutions, financial technology companies, mobile money operators, development partners and state governments to expand access to financial services.
She identified the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number initiative and the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 as part of the Bank’s efforts to improve access to financial services and strengthen the country’s payments infrastructure.
The director stressed that financial inclusion remained critical to national development because of its potential to support entrepreneurship, reduce poverty and expand economic opportunities, particularly for underserved populations.
She urged participants at the engagement programme to share their concerns and recommendations on monetary and financial sector policies, assuring them that their contributions would help improve the effectiveness of the Bank’s interventions.
The CBN Listens Programme, held under the theme, “Towards a Robust, Resilient and Inclusive Financial System for Sustainable Economic Growth,”.
The forum brought together representatives of the Oyo State Government, traditional rulers, community leaders, financial institutions, market and trade associations, professional bodies, academia, civil society organisations and the media.
