By Grace Alegba
THE GOVERNOR of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, on Thursday announced plans to establish a Compliance Department by February.
Cardoso made the announcement during the launch of 2025 Macroeconomic Outlook Report, titled “Stabilisation in Transition: Rethinking Reform Strategies for 2025 and Beyond” by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The governor, who participated virtually in the hybrid event held in Lagos, stated that the new Compliance Department would address past challenges in line with global standards.
He added that the department would entrench transparent and resilient financial sector that can drive Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has an unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency and accountability in the banking industry. Earlier on, I made reference to the launching of the CBN foreign exchange code.
“But, on a more general level, the CBN has taken the transformative step of setting up a compliance department.
“This is with the objective of addressing past challenges, aligning with global standards and building a more transparent and revival financial sector that can drive Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
“This department will be inward-facing and outward-facing as well. The department will be functional by the end of February, so I advise you to stay tuned,” he said.
He said that the apex bank would prioritise exchange rate stability for businesses to thrive while supporting fiscal policies in critical sectors of the economy.
Cardoso said that CBN would continue to strengthen financial institutions to enable them to effectively support the real sector.
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He insisted that inflation was the real killer of businesses while explaining measures to keep the figures low.
He said that CBN would continue to strengthen financial institutions to ensure they effectively support the real sector, especially through the establishment of the National Credit Guarantee Company to de-risk lending to critical sectors.
He reaffirmed CBN’s projection of 4.17 per cent GDP growth for the nation in 2025, representing a positive outlook.
Cardoso called for collaboration between monetary and fiscal authorities, alongside private sector participation to achieve growth.
Cardoso added that the growth is anchored on sustained implementation of government reforms, stable crude oil prices, improvements in domestic oil production, diaspora inflows, among others.
According to him, the apex bank is working tirelessly to find solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges while expressing joy that ongoing reforms are yielding positive results.
He explained that investors were already flocking the nation but that CBN would not rest on its oars as it strives to tame inflation.
Cardoso agreed with the NESG on dialogue towards resolving economic challenges, adding that effective communication would have prevented current inherited economic problems.
He said that the apex bank was taking some painful but necessary decisions to right the wrongs to set Nigeria on growth path.
He explained that inflation, which is the real killer of businesses, was projected to decline in 2025 as the impact of economic reforms begins to take effect.
“For example, a lot of people complain about the high interest rates and that’s killing the real sector. Yes, it is and a risk to the real sector.
“The truth of the matter is that the choices are very minimal. The anticipation is that this will be something that will be more short than longer lived.
“In fact, it’s important that people should understand that the real killer is the one on inflation which affects everybody as opposed to the interest rates on the real sector.
“So, I think back to the issue of continuous dialogue and having forums like this and publishing them widely so that people understand a lot better as to what the issues are,” he said. (NAN)
