Remarks By CIBN President at the Inauguration of APBE

OPENING REMARKS BY PROFESSOR SEGUN AJIBOLA, Ph.D., FCIB PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BANKERS OF NIGERIA AND PATRON, ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL BANKERS IN EDUCATION (APBE) AT THE 1^ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL BANKERS IN EDUCATION (APBE)

ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23^rd, 2017

AT ABUAD MAIN AUDITORIUM, ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE

Protocols

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I am particularly pleased to address this distinguished audience and academics at the 1^st International Annual Conference of the Association of Professional Bankers in Education (APBE). This Conference is a homecoming for me from two perspectives – firstly, being a Nigerian of the Ekiti extraction and secondly, I am at home with my professional bankers in the academic sector after spending several years in the practice of banking itself.

It is indeed cheering to note that the first edition of this Conference is being hosted by this relatively young but highly promising University, Afe Babalola Univeristy, Ado-Ekiti. This is however not surprising considering the philanthropic and favourable disposition of the founder, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, to the development of the educational sector in the country.

I also specially recognize the presence of one of the Patrons of APBE who also doubles as a Past President of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) cum thoroughbred academic, HRH Eze (Prof.) Green Nwankwo, OON, FCIB.  Indulge me to describe Prof. Nwankwo in this Yoruba parlance that “Oruko omo lo n ro omo”, literally meaning “the name of a child rubs off on the child’s nature”. Prof. Green Nwankwo is not only respected as an elder statesman, but he is also still “evergreen” in his sharp intellect.

It also delights me that the Lead Paper Presenters at this two-day Conference are academics of no mean repute. There is no gainsaying the fact that Prof. Wole Adewunmi, FCIB, Past President, CIBN and Prof. S. A. Tella, Professor of Monetary Economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State are well respected actors in the academic landscape.

Esteemed colleagues, this Conference is not only timely but pivotal for sustaining the current improvement, albeit marginally, in the economic growth trajectory of the country. As it has been severally adduced to by different authors, the financial intermediation role of the banking industry makes it the lifeblood of any economy. While the basic functions of financial institutions and the objectives of management have not changed materially, the modes and methods of discharging these functions have been greatly impacted upon by various factors – social, economic, political and technological.

Globally, for instance, the banking and finance sector has witnessed an unprecedented incursion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which is redefining formally entrenched business models. Understanding the extent to which these developments would reshape financial institutions would continue to occupy the attention of academics in tertiary institutions and other financial sector research centres. Let me quickly add that with these recent developments, there is the need for a total overhauling of tertiary institutions’ curricula for banking and finance students and other allied departments. This would ensure that graduates from these institutions are fit for the job roles in the banking and finance industry.

It is also instructive to note at this point that it is imperative to entrench a policy of job-skill match in the country’s banking and finance sector. Across the globe, a number of banks’ collapse have been attributed to non-professional bankers managing the affairs of financial institutions. Few examples are Andrew Hornby, former Chief Executive of HBO Plc and Fred Goodwin, CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland. The duo presided over highly valued assets before their banks eventually collapsed.

The sub-theme for this Conference on An Appraisal of Competency Framework and Capacity Building in the Financial Services Industry therefore immediately caught my attention. May I, therefore seize this opportunity to inform you my colleagues that CIBN continues to be alive to its responsibility as the Sole Accreditation Agency under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Competency Framework for the Banking Industry – a Framework that aims to address the need for enthroning a minimum standard for practitioners in the banking industry. As at date, we have accredited fourteen (14) banks’ academies including the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

The foregoing makes it clear that the coordinators of this Conference, led by Prof. Deji Olarenwaju, LLB, FCIB, had a deep thought before choosing the theme Strategic Approach to Management of Financial Institutions in Nigeria. Relying on old models of managing financial institutions in Nigeria may not only have grave impacts on the banking sector but could also, through contagion effects, affect the entire economic value chain. Hence, professional bankers in education need to rise to the challenge of developing new models through cutting edge research that would fit the current economic dynamics, particularly in the banking industry.

For instance, according to Härle, Havas, Kremer, Rona and Samandari (2015) in a Mckinsey Report on the Future of Bank Risk Management, risk management in banking has been transformed over the past decade, largely in response to regulations that emerged from the global financial crisis and the fines levied in its wake. But important trends are afoot that suggest risk management will experience even more sweeping change in the next decade. The Report went further to note that no one can draw a blueprint of what a bank’s risk function will look like in 2025 – or predict all forthcoming disruptions, be they technological advances, macroeconomic shocks, or banking scandals. But the fundamental trends do permit a broad sketch of what will be required of the risk function of the future. The trends furthermore suggest that banks and other stakeholders can take some initiatives now to deliver short-term results while preparing for the coming changes. By acting now, banks will help risk functions avoid being overwhelmed by the new demands.

In developing strategic approaches to the management of financial institutions, the need for innovations in the financial services industry have been stressed by various authors. In fact, financial innovations, together with real technological innovations, are regarded as the thrust of managing financial institutions and the main determinants of economic growth (Levine, 1997; Chou & Chin, 2004; Lerner & Tufano, 2011). Incidentally, new financial mechanisms have been added to the initial five (5) concepts in technological developments as identified by J. Schumpeter – new products, new methods of production, new sources of supply, the exploitation of new markets and new ways to organize business.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I am confident that the various sub-themes to be discussed at this Conference would avail participants the opportunity to have new perspectives on issues they are already familiar with or be exposed to concepts that may be completely to them.

My esteemed colleagues, kindly indulge me to intimate you with some of the steps taken by CIBN in building capacity for the financial services industry and other stakeholders. The 22^nd World Conference of Banking Institutes (WCBI) hosted by CIBN had as its theme Rethinking the Future of Banking and Finance and Life-Long Learning. The Conference featured topics on emerging trends in the industry and the need for practitioners to keep abreast of developments through constant honing of their skills and competencies. It is also noteworthy that a Past President of CIBN, Dr ’Segun Aina, OFR, FCIB was elected the 1st Chairman of the Global Banking Education Standards Board (GBEStB). The GBEStB, first of its kind globally, has the mandate of designing industry-led initiative which aims to develop clear, internationally-agreed standards for the education of Professional Bankers. It is also noteworthy that the Registrar/Chief Executive, CIBN, Mr ’Seye Awojobi, FCIB who is here present, is a member of the Education Committee under the GBEStB.

As part of CIBN’s contribution to building capacity in the area of legal issues in the management of financial institutions, one of the Sub-Themes of the Conference, we organize annually a National Seminar on Banking and Allied Matters for Judges in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute. This year’s edition, the 17^th in the series, had as its theme Emergence of New Frontiers in Banking and its Legal Implications.

Let me challenge you all, especially those of you with cognate banking experience up to the topmost level of the carrier like myself, to lend your experience to those still in the practice or aspiring to be one someday. As we continue to pay deserving tributes to those who laid the foundation for intellectual property in this industry, albeit the authors of resourceful books and research findings, let me call for more authorship in the industry. We still have a lot to share and indeed a lot more to bequeath to the coming generation. For example, I was trained as a credit analyst in my early days in Nigerian American Merchant Bank (an arm of First National Bank of Boston then). I carried the extremely rich training to other banks. I have documented my experience in a book which is already in print. It is an experience sharing from a practitioner but a must read for students and staff of banking and finance and allied disciplines as it offers solutions to core issues in credit appraisal and management and related matters. I urge my colleagues with similar background to do the same. Indeed, I am working on another book that would provide answers to many vexed issues as affect the structure of the Nigeria’s economy.

As I conclude, I congratulate the organizers of the Conference and wish delegates a very rewarding session as we collectively strive towards building a robust financial systems in the country.

Thank you for listening and God bless.

Professor Segun Ajibola, Ph.D., FCIB, F.IoD, FERP, FICA, MNES, ACTI, LLB, BL

President/Chairman of Council

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria

November 23^rd, 2017.

REFERENCES

Chou, Y. K. & Chin, M. S. (2004). Financial Innovations and Technological Innovations as Twin Engines of Economic Growth. Melbourne: University of Melbourne, p. 1-46.

Härle, P., Havas, A., Kremer, A., Rona, D. & Samandari, H. (2015). The Future of Bank Risk Management. McKinsey Working Papers on Risk Global Risk Practice. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/risk/our-insights/the-future-of-bank-risk-management

Levine, R. (1997). Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda. Journal of Economic Literature, 35, p. 688-726.

Lerner, J. & Tufano, P. (2011). The Consequences of Financial Innovation: A Counterfactual Research Agenda. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series, Cambridge, February, p. 1-92.