By Babajide Komolafe

The Bankers’ Committee has resolved to sustain the momentum of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) on-going collaborative process with it (the committee) to actualise its objective of ensuring the financial sector contribution to the social economic development of the country.

Mallam Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated this in a communiqué issued at the end of the second Bankers’ Committee National Retreat held in Calabar, the Cross River State at the weekend.

The governor said the Bankers’ Committee restated the vision for a Nigerian financial sector that plays a dual role of ‘enabler’ as well as ‘engine’ of real sector growth and acts as an intermediary and contributor to economic growth and financial stability.

“We reaffirm that given the current situation of the economy and the state of national development, the role of the CBN, deposit money banks and other licensed financial institutions in economic development cannot be limited to occasional interventions, but requires sustained involvement to actualise the desired results,” the governor said.

Sanusi observed that in order to consolidate the achievements recorded by the Bankers’ Committee so far, the focus of the second retreat was on power, transport infrastructure and agricultural sectors where the need remained most critical and change would drive the development of other sectors of the economy.

The governor commended the Federal Government’s laudable efforts to reform the power sector and acknowledged that sustainable reform is a collective responsibility, remarking that the development of the agricultural sector which holds tremendous potential as a key contributor to national revenues and export earnings has yet to gain sufficient attention.

He added that transport infrastructural development has remained weak as a result of insufficient financing.
Sanusi explained that they have identified specific initiatives in each of the focus sector that the financial system would support and had determined requirements for success including funding, government policy, capacity building and legislation.

The governor noted that the power sector remained the key linkage to other sectors of the economy, adding that the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee would continue to collaborate with the government to actualise the intent of the power sector reform and count on the support of government to implement the roadmap as well as the development of viable projects by state governments and private sector investors.

“The financial system’s participation in the agricultural sector has not kept pace with the country’s socio_economic needs and expectations. The level of investment in the sector is not reflective of the nation’s food security considerations and potential for economic growth. We recognise that most banks exhibit a low risk appetite for agricultural lending,” Sanusi said.

The governor added that because of the importance of the sector to the committee’s objective of national development, they would engage in economic advocacy with government to engender definitive national agriculture policy framework that would provide the impetus for systemic change and unlock private sector involvement.

He said the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee are committed to building capacity in banks to engage in agricultural financing including technical training and leveraging strategic partnerships with local and international development finance institutions.

“The governor said the CBN in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa has embarked on a comprehensive strategy to define and implement a comprehensive framework to expand agricultural lending in an integrative manner that addresses the risks and capacity bottle necks along the agricultural and financial value chains.

The committee noted the continuing gap in the state of the nation’s infrastructure and the consequences for national development and quality of life.

Sanusi said the policy direction for infrastructure concessioning is sound and attractive for private sector investment but to ensure the success of the new direction, it is vital that MDAs, the financial system and other stakeholders were aligned to the new approach.