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World Bank Unveils Strategy in New Nigerian Portfolio

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The World Bank’s new Country Partnership Strategy would focus on three pillars – sustainability and inclusive growth, human development and governance, to achieve results.

Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly, Country Director, said that the new portfolio would be applied between the periods of 2014 and 2017.

“The structure of our portfolio is more or less the same in the sense that we have about 50 per cent of our resources going to what we call sustainable development – energy, infrastructure, agriculture and also we put climate change and environment in the same area. We have the third in human development – health, education, social protection and the remainder is allocated between governance, private sector development.’’

Marie-Nelly said governance remained a major challenge in ensuring growth and development in the country, adding that Nigeria’s fight against corruption would be taken into consideration in whatever the bank did with any sector of the economy.

“In fact now, each time we enter into a sector, we start to understand how the sector operates   and what are the institutions; what are the governance challenges. Because when you talk about governance or even corruption, you have to look at it in a broader sense and see what the impediments are, not just to say there is corruption.

“How does the system in place makes room to allow transparency, clarity of responsibility of the various actors, to allow accountability, to allow capacity to measure result, this is part of elements that are part of governance, so you have to put it a broader sense. It is quite clear that it is now an imperative for us. If we are going to succeed in Nigeria we have to incorporate.’’

The country director said that the n bulk of  the bank’s  resources were more in states programmes adding that it had increased its engagements in the states significantly.

She noted that the bank’s focus was more on result-based approach away from an input approach which did not trigger significant improvement in delivery of social services.

She added that a common donor platform had been introduced to avoid duplication of funds.

Commenting of the funding of the new portfolio, Marie-Nelly said that Nigeria had been moved from the International Development Association (IDA) window to the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) window.

The two windows are World Bank funds that support projects in the poorest of the developing nations and low income developing countries.

She said that Nigeria was placed on the IBRD window because of the two years consistent improved gross national income growth per capita.

IDA is a sub-concessional window, where loan beneficiaries enjoy 10 years moratorium, 40 years repayment period, no interest rate, and service charge of about 0.75 per cent.

According to her, for IBRD, instead of having 40 years payment, the repayment period is 25 years and the moratorium is five years.

On the outcome of the Spring Meeting, she said that the bank would focus on ensuring that extreme poverty was reduced from 20 per cent to 3 per cent by 2030.

She said that extreme poverty in Africa had decreased from about 58 per cent in 1996 to 49.5 per cent in 2010.

Marie-Nelly said that in Nigeria, statistics according to the National Bureau of Statistics estimated Nigeria’s poverty rates for children at 62.2 per cent in 2004 against 62.6 per cent in 2010, while the adult equivalent was 48.3 per cent against 46.1 per cent in 2010.

“Meeting the target in Nigeria will require significant and sustained growth but more importantly reduction of inequality,’’ she said.


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

The  inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.

In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN,  disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.

“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.

The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.

However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.

Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.

Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.

The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.

Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.

“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”

 

 

 

 


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