President Bola Tinubu has challenged Nigerian banks to channel their strengthened capital into productive investment, affordable credit and job creation, stressing that bigger bank balance sheets must translate into broader economic growth.

• Benefits of reforms coming to Nigerians soon, CBN assures
• CIBN canvasses multi-pronged approach to curb rising fuel, food prices

President Bola Tinubu has called on the financial services industry to channel its capital into productive investments and employment opportunities to drive economic development.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), however, assured that the benefits of the country’s improving macroeconomic indicators would soon filter through to households and businesses as ongoing fiscal and monetary reforms begin to take effect.

Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) urged the Federal Government to adopt a multi-layered approach to curb the impact of the war between the United States (U.S.) and Iran.

At the 19th CIBN Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja yesterday, Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the resilience of the financial system would not be possible without businesses having access to affordable credit.

He listed factors that would drive resilience in the financial systems, including growth facilitation, inclusion, technology and long-term capital.

Tinubu said various innovations, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital banking, and open banking, among others, had impacted the financial system, adding that his government would continue to create space for more private-sector credit.

“No economy can be more resilient than its financial system,” he said.

CBN Governor, Olayemi Cadoso, said the benefits of the monetary and fiscal policy reforms would soon start trickling down to impact the common man and their standard of living.

Represented by the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Economic Policies, Philip Ikeazor, the governor said the successes of the reforms had been echoed across different platforms.

Noting that many citizens had questioned the benefits of the reforms, he said the dividends would soon translate into positive changes in citizens’ day-to-day lives.

“The reforms by the CBN were done in conjunction with other stakeholders,” he said.

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Thompson Sunday, said the resilience of the financial system exceeded adaptation to shocks.

Sunday, represented by the Executive Director of Corporate Services of the NDIC, Emily Osuji, said building resilience required strong institutions and shared responsibility.

He urged banks to provide the resources needed to support agriculture and businesses, among other sectors.

In a keynote speech, the Country Director of the World Bank, Matthew Verghis, commended the country for some of its reforms, which impacted the inflation rates and built investor confidence.

Verghis, represented by the World Bank’s Lead Private Sector Development Specialist for Nigeria, Bertine Kamphuis, said about three to four million young Nigerians enter the labour force every year. He said one in 20 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) could access bank credit.

He said the availability of capital was not an issue in the country, but the allocation of it.

Also, the Chairman of the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Oliver Alawuba, said that a resilient economy is one designed to adapt to shocks without passing them on to vulnerable citizens.

President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Dele Alabi, said that disruption had become a defining feature of the global economy.

Alabi said the war in the Middle East involving Israel, Iran, and the U.S., together with disruption to energy and shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, had intensified volatility in oil, freight, and financial markets.

He said that Nigeria was not insulated from these shocks.

According to him, MSMEs are central to employment, enterprise and local value creation, but many remain constrained by high operating costs, unreliable infrastructure, limited access to markets, low productivity, skills gaps and slow digital adoption.

He said the proposed hubs would provide shared infrastructure, business advisory services, capacity building, technology support, market linkages and easier access to finance.

“The good news is that certain policies implemented in the past couple of years are beginning to yield fruit. This is precisely why the next phase of reform must focus on transmission, moving stability from national balance sheets to business balance sheets and household budgets. The Institute’s advocacy for scalable SME Hubs nationwide is one practical response.

“They would help reduce operating costs, improve bankability, stimulate innovation and connect recapitalised financial institutions more effectively to the real sector. In this way, the gains of reform can travel beyond aggregate indicators to stronger businesses, better jobs, higher incomes and more resilient communities,” Alabi said.

The conference brought together stakeholders in the financial system from across the country.

He listed volatile crude oil and gas prices, higher costs of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and fertiliser, rising freight and logistics costs, exchange rate pressure, and shifts in capital flows as direct impacts.

To minimise the impacts, he called for closer coordination of fiscal, monetary and energy policies.