Mustapha Chike-Obi, chairman, Bank Directors’ Association of Nigeria (BDAN) on Friday harped on policy implementation, saying it is very important.
He said this at the ongoing roundtable on bank capitalisation organised by BusinessDay Media Limited in Lagos.
“A good policy that brings bad results, means execution was problematic along the way. We are seeing bad results from good policies and nobody is taking responsibility for that. We should celebrate the policy and the results,” he said.
Speaking further, he said, “everytime you are expanding as a bank, you must get the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approval. I encourage more engagement from the CBN, it’s better if they talk to the banks about why retained earnings are not considered at this point in time.
“I also think that a capital issue of this magnitude should have been done in a press conference. We would then internalize these decisions and act with more happiness and enthusiasm.
On the banking sector recapitalisation policy, he said, “As a regulator, it doesn’t mean that we agree with it. There are things that require explanations. This is a big existential issue for the banking issue.
“I think there should have been better engagement, some things need to be explained. Why does an international license require more capital than a national license? If you’re diversifying across nations, does that mean more risk? If I have one branch in London as Fidelity, am I in the same boat as a UBA who has many branches in many countries?”
