Nume Ekeghe
As part of efforts to achieve its financial inclusion target, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set a goal of 64 new customers per branch every month for microfinance banks (MFBs) in the country.
In a letter to all MFBs that was signed by the CBN Director, Other Financial Institutions Department, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, posted on the central bank’s website, each branch of MFBs in the country was expected to mobilise 774 new accounts annually.
It stated that in a bid to mobilise stakeholders on the Revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS 2.0) and accelerate progress towards the achievement of the target, the CBN had held a stakeholders‘ forum for all financial service providers in the six geo-political zones in the first and second quarters of 20l9 which was attended by representatives of MFBs.
“The objective of the Forum was to expose stakeholders to the detailed provisions of the Revised Strategy (NFIS 2.0) and their expected roles/responsibilities in the financial inclusion agenda.
“One of the major resolution reached athletic the event was the setting of target for each branch of a microfinance bank to acquire 64 new customers per month. This translates to 774 new bank accounts (measured by new BVN registration) per branch per year.
“Given the urgency of this task, it is important to cascade the target to your branches for their information Ind implementation.”
The new accounts must be for individuals who did not previously have a bank account.
The letter added: “All MFBs are hereby requested to implement the above resolution and disseminate same to all their branches (where applicable) to ensure concerted efforts towards achieving the overarching target of 80 per cent financial inclusion by the year 2020.”
