12 | The Lion King
and with limited requirements.
Through our bouquet of product
offerings, low-cost and stable
deposits were mobilized thereby
improving our deposit mix. For
example, we recorded a growth
of N40bn and 850,000 new ac-
counts in our Savings portfolio
in 2013 financial year. Conse-
quently, growth in our customer
base impacted positively on the
bank’s profit. This was derived
from increased retail transac-
tions. Revenue sources include
card issuance, alerts, electronic
transfers, remittances, consumer
loans.
What are the barriers to Retail
Banking in Africa and what are
you doing to overcome these
barriers?
The most recent EFInA survey
shows that only 32.5%, that is
28.6m of bankable 88m Nige-
rian adults are banked. The low
level of accessibility to banking
product can be easily attributed
to lack of robust national iden-
tification system. This is a major
challenge. The absence of a
standard identification system in
Nigeria has been a major set-
back in accessing formal finan-
cial services.
The present day reality in most
African countries is that target
customers do not often have
the required documentation for
accessing banks’ products. Such
information ranges from address,
age of customer, date of birth,
primary means of identification
such as Drivers’ license, Interna-
tional passport or National ID.
Illiteracy is another major bar-
rier. Literacy rate (percentage
of people ages 15 and above)
in Sub Saharan Africa was last
measured at 63.36% in 2010, ac-
cording to the World Bank which
implies illiteracy rate of 36.64%.
Nigeria’s indices show that about
40 million adults in Nigeria are
illiterate and the overall literacy
rate is close to 57%. These indices
are unhealthy for Retail Banking
to thrive.
Strategic programs have been
designed by government to
address the above major chal-
lenges. These programs include
Financial Inclusion Initiatives and
the CBN’s Biometric Identifica-
tion System. We have developed
products with low-documenta-
tion requirements and are poised
to deliver in line with these gov-
ernment initiatives.
What are your views on the Cen-
tral Bank of Nigeria’s proposed
biometric registration of cus-
tomers and its impact on retail
banking?
This initiative is a laudable one.
The biometric identification
system will ensure that every
individual bank customer has
a distinct and traceable iden-
tity. This will further facilitate the
fight against fraud and money
laundering, whilst enhancing the
protection of the customer. It will
also reduce multiplicity of credit
availments to the same customer
which will encourage consumer
credit in the industry. By fa-
cilitating an automated distinct
identification process, the system
will fast track financial inclusion
for the unbanked majority of the
Nigerian population.
How do you relax outside of
work?
In my spare time, I love reading
and listening to music or motiva-
tional audio messages. Most of
all, I love travelling to new places
and interacting with people of
other cultures.
Ask the Executive
