Lamido Sanusi Lamido, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor has expressed confidence that Nigeria’s move towards a cashless society, together with other developments already under way in the banking sector, such as the outsourcing of cash management and transit, shared data centres, should lead to cheaper lending.
Sanusi made this known in an interview with Oxford Business Group, a global publishing, research and consultancy firm.
He added that the ‘Cashlite’ programme, which forms a key component in Nigeria’s efforts to reduce the volume of cash in circulation, was scheduled to be rolled out across the country at the beginning of 2013 following its introduction this year in the capital city.
“The roll-out over 2012 has been focused on Lagos as, given its proximity to the landing points of fibre-optic cables, it is ideally positioned for technological adoption,” he said. “Instant electronic transfers have been enabled, interconnectivity between ATMs is ensured and mobile banking licences have been issued.”
The CBN governor said “Aside from the immediate financial gains this entails, human capital is being made available for revenue-generating services, such as debt recovery and client acquisition. We estimate that a successful implementation of these measures will reduce the cost of lending by at least 30%.”
Sanusi was confident that steps taken to recapitalise Nigerian banks and put their balance sheets in order meant they were now well placed to play their part in boosting lending.
“The question now lies with the counterparties. Vital elements, like infrastructure, energy and agricultural transformation are what will bring about bankable companies and projects. The ball now lies in the government’s court.”
Going forward, Sanusi said Nigeria must focus on rebuilding its reserves and stabilising the exchange rate to protect against further fall-out from global economic uncertainty.
He explained that a drive to replenish the country’s excess crude account, which remains depleted following the 2009 drop in oil prices, would require political will and maintained that the country’s economic development would benefit from greater private sector involvement.
“The global economic outlook is still uncertain, and it is vital that we resume our savings so that we are prepared for the worst in case the situation deteriorates,” he said.
“Doing so will depend on an agreement among all political stakeholders involved. Structural adjustment is also of key concern. We need to get to a point where we have an infrastructure whereby the balance sheet of the government is not the major driver of investment.”