Financial services regulators have their work cut out, amid heightened cybercrimes and credit risks reinforced by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, thereby triggering fears of solvency in Nigeria’s banking sector.

Such fears notwithstanding, the regulators – the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have reassured stakeholders that there is no cause for alarm, as they are constantly devising strategies to remain ahead of fraudsters and cybercriminals.
Specifically, the NDIC insisted that “The Nigerian Banking System is not under threat of systemic crisis. Prompt and decisive interventions by the regulatory authorities have provided countercyclical buffers for the economy and the financial system.”

Giving the assurance at a just-concluded workshop for journalists, which ended the weekend in Kaduna, the Director, Bank Examination Department, NDIC, Dr. O. O. Babatolu, also said the regulators Continue to build resilience in the financial system by implementing proactive policies.

Babatolu, who spoke on, “Risk Management Strategies for the Banking Industry to Deal With a Pandemic or Crisis,” listed other measures taken to foster financial system stability.

They include to ensure enhancement to bank’s risk management and governance, ensure proactive crisis management and effective resolution, facilitate orderly evolution of market infrastructure for liquidity buffers and non-performing loan (NPL) resolution, and ensure compliance with rules and regulation; including the integrity of reporting

He added that banks are encouraged to institute strong corporate governance and risk management practices and active consumer education all of which are aimed at engendering confidence in the financial system by the banking public.

However, the regulators agreed that the new normal brought about by the COVID-19 has impacted consumer experience, trust, and confidence in the banking sector, as banks scaled down operations in compliance to safety guidelines and protocols, leading to services and customer traffic diverted to alternative e-channels (ATM, internet, POS/Web, etc) and an attendant spike in frauds and cyber-attacks/threats.

In regards to consumer protection against such threats, the CBN stressed the need for more investment in research to sustain innovation, to address the associated consumer risks, and enhance the regulatory process.