Central Bank Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele has proposed a 25 Billion naira capital base for deposit taking Fintechs, stating that such fintechs, “should come forward and become a bank – bring N25 billion and be a bank.”
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Twenty five billion is the capital base benchmark for commercial banking institutions in Nigeria.
The apex bank boss spoke at the opening of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Africa Regional Committee (ARC) Technical Assistance Workshop with the theme: “Normality in Turbulent Periods: The Stabilising Role of Deposit Insurance’’, which was organised by the IADI-ARC and hosted by the NDIC in Abuja.
This was just as the World Bank yesterday stated that Nigeria’s growth prospect was being stifled by its underperforming oil sector which it noted was also creating fiscal imbalances for the country.
Speaking further, Emefiele stressed the need for the banking industry regulator as well as supervisors to guard their loins to, “ensure that we are able to put in place strong regulatory framework and practices that should help nip in the bud, the unfortunate incident that may happen as we try to allow the growth of fintechs in Nigeria”.
Also Read: CBN Plans To Increase Fintech Capital Base Above N 2 Billion.
Emefiele also said, several financial products were being provided by fintechs, including digital payments, international remittances, mobile money, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, among others.
He said the CBN had released a series of fintech-based policies and guidelines including the regulatory sandboxes, open banking and cybersecurity, among others, in its determination to ensure a robust regulatory landscape without stifling innovation.
The central bank governor, however, insisted that fintechs who want to be deposit-taking institutions, “should come forward and become a bank – bring N25 billion and be a bank.”
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Tony Chimdiuto 
Tony Chimdiuto