• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

Customers’ transactions safe as CBN, CIBN move to fight banking fraud

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Customers can now carry out their banking transactions without fear of losing money as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) collaborates with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) to fight against internet fraud and other crimes in the banking sector.

“This is the time banks and the economy is facing cyber insecurity. The CBN will partner with CIBN to ensure that financial transactions are secured,” said Joseph Nnanna, Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN.

In the first half of 2017, there were 16,762 reported cases of fraud and forgeries (attempted and successful), involving N5.52 billion and US$ 0.124 million in the first half of 2017, compared with 9,164 cases involving N4.36 billion in the corresponding period of 2016, the CBN’s half year 2017 economic report revealed.

This indicated respective increase of 82.9 and 19.3 per cent above the number and value of cases (attempted and successful) in the first half of 2016. The actual loss by banks, however, decreased by 43.5 per cent to N0.78 billion and US$0.03 million, below the N1.38 billion incurred in the first half of 2016.

The marked decline in the actual losses to the banking industry indicated the effect of stronger internal control measures adopted by the banks, improved use of technology and more thorough approach in hiring employees for sensitive areas of operation.

Similar to the preceding half-year, fraud and forgeries reported in the review period were perpetrated, mainly, by outsiders (non-bank staff), although there were instances involving banks’ employees. The fraud cases included pilfering of cash, suppression and conversion of customer’s deposits, stealing, illegal funds transfer, defalcation and fraudulent ATM withdrawals.

Nnanna, who delivered a goodwill message at the investiture of the 20th President/Chairman of Council of the CIBN, Uche Messiah Olowu, challenged the institute on bridging the knowledge gap among deposit money banks and other financial institutions including Microfinance banks and primary mortgage banks.

Olowu sees his inauguration as a new dawn for the institute. “I’m elated today that I’m the 20th President and Chairman of Council. It is a new dawn because we want to enthrone professionalism. We’re moving to the next level – a level that is cerebral, driven by values. We’re going to try to adjust to emerging trends; we want to remain at the head of the learning curve,’ he said.

Accepting to lead the institute for the next two years he said his administration will focus on key five strategic areas, which are rules and standards, skills and competences, research and advocacy, technology and resources, brand and visibility.

“Having enumerated our five strategic initiatives that will be our primary focus for the next two years, let me reiterate that we shall continue to work to strengthen existing programmes which have been captured in the road map to management”, Olowu said.

In conjunction with the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and other relevant stakeholders, he said the Institute will champion the review of banking and finance curriculum to bridge the gap between the classroom and the requirement of the market place.

Olowu pledged to instill good corporate governance ethics into the banking system, using the institute’s capacity programmes, and to practice inclusive management system in his administration.

On enterprise risk management, Olowu said “We want to mobilise competent persons that have adequate knowledge for risk management, and that knowledge will spread across the industry. We have our research unit: Center for Financial Studies, all interventions in our institute will follow that body. It’s going to be peopled by competent industry experts. So it’s a new dawn for banking in Nigeria because we’re playing at the global stage as the chairman of the Global Banking Education Standard Board.

Segun Ajibola, immediate past president of CIBN, encouraged his successor to uphold the values of the institute, remain focused, tenacious and to collaborate with his colleagues at the institute.

He told Olowu to work with banks to ensure Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework was adopted to fight risks in the industry.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE