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Central Bank deputy governor has said it is not true that the CBN gave
back licences to some microfinance banks after revocation, but only
gave them “provisional approval for three months.”

Kingsley Moghalu,
deputy governor, financial system stability, at an event in Lagos, on
Thursday, added that, “A revoked licence is a revoked licence, which is
impossible to amend. Microfinance banks licences were revoked, but
several of them complained saying that they have now recapitalised. We
know that about 99 percent of them recapitalised after the revocation,
not before.”

Mr. Moghalu added
that because the Central Bank wants to bring the industry into
compliance, “we said those who have recapitalised will be looked at and
given a provisional approval for a new licence. This has been the case
for about 121 microfinance banks. We’ve given them provisional approval
for three months.

“At the end of the
three months, we’ll do again a comprehensive review of their claims,
and if those claims are verified, we will issue them a new licence. And
they can maintain their names.”

The deputy governor
spoke at a business forum on ‘Global Perspectives on Financial
Inclusion’, organised by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access
(EFInA), a non-profit research organisation, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Lamido
Sanusi, the Central Bank governor, said in a paper at the event that,
“The Central Bank plans to focus on achieving a comprehensive financial
education and inclusion of unbanked Nigerians as a major strategic goal
beginning in 2011.”

In his paper, read
by Mr. Moghalu, Mr. Sanusi said the three important elements of
financial inclusion are education, products, and infrastructure; but
Nigerians should not “expect too much too soon”, because “financial
inclusion is a process, and not an event.”

Financial inclusion
is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to vast
sections of disadvantaged and low income groups.

The governor added
that the Central Bank has set up a committee that will conceptualise a
framework for an effective financial literacy and consumer protection
programme in Nigeria.

“The committee has begun its work, and it is expected that a blueprint will be generated in the first quarter of 2011,” he said.

Banking beyond technology

At the forum, a
document, ‘EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria -2010 Survey
Results’, was launched, with Modupe Ladipo, chief executive officer of
EFInA, disclosing that, “There are currently about 59 million unbanked
adults in the country. Banks should extend banking beyond branches
through technology,” in order to meet the unbanked population.”

She said the EFInA
survey is a nationally representative study of consumers’ perceptions
on financial services and issues, which creates insight to how
consumers source their income and manage their financial lives.

The EFInA 2010
survey covers the adult population across the 36 states and the Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja, with a target size of 22,200 households.