BY NKIRUKA NNOROM & MAGBEGOR ZINO

The Deputy Governor, Financial Stability System of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Dr Kingsley Moghalu, has said that continuous strengthening of regulation in the banking sector, as well as various reforms in the sector have helped to improve the financial system and the entire economy.

Moghalu, who spoke at the Nigerian Banking and Capital Markets Conference put together by Euromoney, said that improved financial reporting has also been seen in the banking system following the recent adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS.

He added that the introduction of new banking models, where banks are expected to opt for regional, national or international bank has softened entry into the banking system by new players.

Speaking on the outlook of the general economy, Moghalu stated that the prospects for growth in the economy going forward is high due to various reform programmes embarked upon by the government over the last 10 years, saying that the country would compete efficiently for capital as a result. So far, he said that “Total investment has increased from 22 percent to 23.6 percent in 2013.
Central Bank’s reserves have improved from $42.4 billion in December 2012 to $46.9 billion in August 2013 which should increase confidence in Nigeria.”
He further stated that the country’s fiscal deficit is expected to remain below three in 2014 as it has this year, adding that he expects inflation to remain below its single-digit target throughout next year.

“As the country’s fiscal deficit has remained below three percent, we do not expect it to change in 2014” he said. The CBN Governor also said that economic growth next year was projected at 7.6 percent, which compares with this year’s rate at 6.5 percent.

He revealed that some plans have already been put in place for instance, the unveiling of the renewable banking master-plan, macro-economy stability, plans for sufficient power provision and strategies for the positioning of Nigeria as a regional economic hub.

Speaking, the Director of Euromoney Conferences, Christopher Garnett said the Nigerian has more to do in terms of catching with the South-African market.

Putting all the pre-requisites for a thriving capital market together, he claimed that the Nigerian market still has a long way to go. ‘’putting all the financial requirements together, I wouldn’t say Nigeria has much of a chance to beat the South-African market, but some improvements have been made compared it to when I came here (Nigeria) since 2008.”

Speaking on whether he had an affiliation with the European countries or if he was representing Europe given the name, Euromoney, he replied in the negative and said ‘’Euromoney is a private sector business that is trying to provide benefits which would be in the interests of the countries which we are based in. “For us to have a feedback platform to give to Nigerians, it will depend on our Nigerian customers and our friends in government on what they want us to do for them.”

The lead sponsors of the conference are First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Ecobank Plc and Chapel Hill Denham, while the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, and Marina Securities co-sponsored the event.