Nigeria is set to join a very small elite group of countries operating an international financial hub.
The international financial centre will take in September 2022 when the Central Bank of Nigeria will establish The Nigerian International Financial Centre (NIFC).
Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 14th Annual Banking and Finance Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
Emefiele revealed that “the NIFC will act as an international gateway for Capital and investments, driven by technology and payment system infrastructure”.
According to Emefiele: “The NIFC will take advantage of our existing laws such as the BOFIA 2020, NEPZA and other CBN regulations to create a fully global investment and a financial hub where monies, ideas, and technology will move freely without hindrance.”
This new financial hub, he said, “will curate local and international banks to make them global champions”.
When operational, “the NIFC will be a 24/7 Financial Centre that will complement London, New York and Singapore financial centers and enable an acceleration of our home -grown initiatives”.
NIFC will complement such initiatives such as the Infracorp plc, the N15 Trillion infrastructure fund which we will be launching in October 2021, the National Theatre creative hubs for youths as well as the E-naira project which will also debut in October 2021.
Emefiele also stated that the apex bank’s efforts to strengthen the Loan to Deposit ratio policy has resulted in a significant rise in loans provided by financial institutions to banking customers.