Committee targets 40% female bank headship by 2014

In a bid to empower more women in the financial sector, the Bankers’ Committee has set a target of 40 per cent female leadership in banks by 2014.

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, said at the Murtala Mohammed Foundation 2012 Policy Dialogue, in Lagos that the committee would ensure that more women were given opportunity to hold top management positions in banks.

Sanusi said, “Yesterday at the Bankers Committee meeting, we all agreed that between now and 2014,40 per cent of top management positions in the banks will be held by women. Also, 30 per cent of board seats will be held by women. We are also starting a scheme in the CBN that will allow businesses owned by women to borrow at single digit lending rate from banks.”

The CBN boss pointed out that more than 50 per cent of the population were women but they were not empowered.

He noted that 2012 had been declared the year of women empowerment by the Bankers’ Committee.

On the banking crisis, he said that the financial sector had come to the end of the crisis without a single depositor losing his or her money to the crisis.

“We have got to the end of the banking crisis that started some years ago. The cost of resolution was not borne by the people but by the banks themselves. What is more important to us is to bring confidence back to the sector. Non-performing loan has dropped to five per cent, in terms of balance sheet, we have one of the best in the world,” he said.

The Executive Director, World Bank Group, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, in a paper delivered, said that relatively impressive overall growth rates had not been sufficient to make significant dent on poverty levels.

He added that growth was not accompanied by major structural change, noting that sources of growth had not been diversified thereby making the economy vulnerable.

“Poverty remains significant, poverty and social indicators are below other comprador countries. Growth not translated to higher employment as many Nigerians are excluded from benefits. Concentration of growth in a few geographical areas has made inequality more pronounced and visible,” Muhtar added.

The two- day policy dialogue ,which involved persons from different sectors of the country, identified poor quality of leadership, infrastructure development, poor educational standards, women participation in governance, police reforms, state police, development of health infrastructure and the place of culture in development,as critical issues that must be addressed.

The MMF was founded on the ideals of the late General Murtala Muhammed. It is a non-profit organisation that has focus on democracy, accountability in government and public administration and transparency within Nigeria.