CBN boss Emefiele seeks help of judiciary to rescue banks from debtors

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, urged the judiciary to lend a helping hand towards ensuring that bank debtors pay back what they owe.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, while warning that the era of arm chair banking was over, said the banks must be major players in growing the economy.

He maintained that the days of non-performing loans (NPLs) had become history in the country “as anyone who benefits from any facility must pay back”.

The CBN Governor who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Joseph Nnanna, spoke at the 12th Annual Banking and Finance Conference, in Abuja on Tuesday.

His words: “We do not want the banks to be money changers. Banking is not banking if you only play in the government fixed income space.

“Banking becomes meaningful when you take liquidity excesses from your surplus centres and channel them into scarce areas, that way you are transforming liquidity into assets and you are growing the economy and creating employment.”

The era when banks deployed their assets in fixed income instruments particularly Treasury Bills (TBs) and Bonds at the expense of the real sector “is over”.

He however, charged the banking sector not to relent in their efforts to meet up with their responsibility of stimulating the economy.

Emefiele, also implored the banks to totally embrace digital operation, saying that brick and mortal banking had gone.

Emefiele said: “Today, with our new generation banks, the players of this space are digital in nature. We have gone beyond armchair banking where players play safe. Today, the CBN is calling on the banking system to be alive to its responsibility. We cannot conceive an economy without banks and neither can we conceive banks without an economy.

“What do I mean by this? What I am simply saying is that the days of armchair banking, playing in the treasury bills space- those days are right behind us. The CBN is bullish and we have in fact, taken our responsibility very seriously.

Read also: Insurance industry receives N371.21bn annuity premium from PenCom

“In the past months, we have come with new initiatives. The loans to deposit ratio is aimed at transforming liquidity management into risk asset management and asset transformation.”

Expressing concern about unemployment, Emefiele urged the banks to play a crucial role by supporting government in asset creation.

“We must support the government in creating jobs for the teeming population,” he said.

He implored banks to redirect their idle liquidity by transforming them into asset creation tools.

“We have also tried to de-risk the banking industry. The days of non-performing loans are behind us and we call upon the judiciary to assist us in this regard,” Emefiele said.

Going forward, he said: “We shall learn to borrow in the old fashion way; by paying back when we have accessed facility from the banks. As Nigerians, the future of our country is in our hands and that future must be defined by the banking industry. Without money, we go nowhere in any economy in the world: with money we can go places.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now