Abuja – CBN and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on Thursday signed a 510,000 dollars (N6.63 million) grant agreement on Shared Disaster Recovery Services to improve data security in Nigeria’s financial sector.

Under the agreement, the agency will provide 510,000 dollars for technical assistance in developing recommendations on technical, operational, business and regulatory requirements for the establishment of a shared disaster recovery centre.

Speaking on the occasion in Abuja, Mr Terrence McCcully, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria,  said the recovery centre would ensure uninterrupted operation of Nigeria’s most important financial institutions in the event of a disaster.

“This technical assistance will also create up to 17 million dollars in business opportunities for U.S exporters of hardware, networking equipment, software and power systems, among others,’’ he said.

McCully said the project would also provide mutual economic benefits to Nigeria and the U.S., adding “it will facilitate trade and strengthen our economic ties’’.

Mr Tunde Lemo, the CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, lauded the initiative, saying that it would reduce the cost of banking services and infrastructure as well as ensure business continuity in the event of disaster.

“If each bank is to set up a robust  infrastructure, it will be difficult to deliver world class services in the Nigerian banking industry, so the bankers committee resolved that one of the  ways to reduce the cost of banking services is to reduce the cost of infrastructure,’’ Lemo said.

He said the technical assistance was timely.

“It is coming at a time when disaster recovery is important to us as we all know that mother-nature is stronger than all of us.

“So, for us to insulate ourselves from any disaster, we need a recovery facility in the likely event that will happen,’’ Lemo said. (NAN)