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By Bimbola Oyesola,[email protected]
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), has charged the newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso, to reposition the banking system in the country.
The centre said the new CBN governor must ensure that the banking system is repositioned to play its primary role of financial intermediation for the benefit of investments and economic growth.
Chief executive officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, speaking at a one-day workshop organised by the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria ( LAWAN) in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, themed “Building a Resilient Economy in an Emerging Administration: Roles of Stakeholders,” noted that some key regulatory instruments of the CBN should be interrogated to ensure their appropriateness and impact on the economy.
Yusuf said the Current Cash Reserve
(CRR) regime was one of such policy instruments that would require a review.
“The Current Cash Reserve requirement of 32.5% is one of the highest globally. It has serious implications for financial intermediation,” he said.
The former director-general of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) stated that development finance operations in the economy have had some positive impacts on a few beneficiaries in the real sector, noting that it needed to be streamlined to minimize loan losses and ensure effective targeting of deserving investors and sectors.
The CEO of CPPE castigated the Nigerian banking industry for its unassuming role in bridging the financial gap between Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and fund managers, and blamed the financial sector for the woes of SMEs in the country.
President Bola Tinubu had on Friday approved the nomination of Cardoso to serve as the governor of the CBN for a term of five years at the first instance, pending his confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
Yusuf said the nominated CBN governor was eminently qualified for the position.
“Cardoso is eminently qualified for the position. He has the academic, intellectual and industry credentials to head the apex bank.”
He reasoned that the shake-up in the CBN did not come as a surprise. “Indeed, President Tinubu hinted during his inaugural speech that the CBN needed a thorough house cleaning. That is what is playing out now.”
He expressed that under the previous CBN leadership, there were serious issues around the transparency of foreign exchange management as well as the intervention funds of the CBN.
“The failure of the CBN to publish Audited Accounts for six years was also a major breach of corporate governance values and the CBN act,” he added.
