BY COBHAM NSA, ABUJA – The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the newest Nigerian financial institution on the Council of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).
With this development, the Corporation is now a full member of the organisation with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The IFSB had extended its membership invitation to the NDIC in March 2018.
A statement by the Head, Communications and Public Affairs of NDIC, Mohammed Kudu Ibrahim, said the membership approval was conveyed to the management in a mail dated Tuesday, December 6, 2018 and subsequently posted on the IFSB website.
According to the mail, the decision to admit the NDIC was taken at the 33rd meeting of the IFSB Council, hosted by the Islamic Development Bank Group (ISDB), on December 6, 2018 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Chaired by Dr Mohammad Y. Al Hashel, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait and Chairman of the IFSB for 2018, the Council Meeting had in attendance President of the ISDB, Dr Bandar Mohammed Hajjar, 12 Central Bank Governors and Commissioners of regulatory and supervisory authorities, and 10 senior representatives from among the Council and Full members of the IFSB, representing 19 countries.
Ibrahim also said in the statement that IFSB is currently developing work plans on standards for the Supervisory Review Process of multiple Islamic Banking products that could further strengthen NDIC’s capacity to deliver on its statutory mandate.
He said this capacity building is especially in the area of robust supervision and provision of guidelines for operators of Non Interest Banks, such as Jaiz Bank; Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Micro-Finance Banks (MFBs) with Non Interest Banking windows.
IFSB is an International Standard-setting organisation for the Islamic Financial Services Industry that promotes the soundness and stability of the global industry, by issuing global prudential standards and guiding principles for Islamic Banking, Islamic Capital Markets and Takaful (Insurance) Sectors.
Members of IFSB are classified into three categories, namely Full Member, Associate Member and observers. As a full board member, NDIC now has voting rights – a status only available to the financial sector supervisory authorities of member countries.
In its work, the IFSB complements the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) and International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
The organisation focuses on introducing new or adapting existing international prudential standards consistent with Islamic Shari’ah principles and recommending same for adoption by the relevant Regulatory Authorities in its member countries.
