NDIC boss advocates re-establishment of national savings bank

By ODIMMEGWA JOHNPETER, Abuja

THE Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim has suggested the re-establishment of Nigeria Savings Bank to expand the frontiers of Nigeria’s banking system.

Responding to a question at a lecture titled: “NDIC and Engendering Confidence in the Financial Services Sector for Poverty Reduction and Economic empowerment” for participants of Executive Course No 38, 2016 at National Institute for Policy & Strategic Studies Kuru, Jos, Alhaji Ibrahim said that the desire to effectively use post offices and leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate financial intermediation would not only mobilise savings but also give access to credits.

He drew the attention of the audience to Britain which in the last decade transformed its post offices into elegant avenues of harnessing savings and credits creation, adding: “Since we are talking of poverty alleviation, we can revisit the issue of National Savings Bank.”

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The NDIC CEO disclosed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Ministry of Communication had been discussing the modalities for effective transformation of post offices so as to serve as banks’ agents.

Speaking on how the NDIC engenders confidence in the financial system towards poverty reduction and economic empowerment, Alhaji Ibrahim emphasized that being a part of the financial safety net, the Corporation contributed to poverty reduction as it focused on deposit guarantee and protection of depositors’ interest.