The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reviewed the appointment criteria for Chief Compliance Officers in Merchant Banks and Regional Banks (Commercial and specialized).

This is according to a circular issued by the apex bank dated October 9, 2020, and signed by its Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Kevin Amugo.

READ: CBN has rolled out new anti money laundering penalties that should get any banker worried

According to the latest notice, Merchant banks and Regional banks are hereby granted dispensation to appoint CCOs on a grade not below an Assistant General Managers. However, the CCOs will report directly to the ECO of the financial institutions who have sole responsibility for compliance matters in the bank.

READ: CBN to “reduce” savings rate to 1% declare OMO bills as “Poison”

Backstory

This latest action by the CBN is the sequel to consultations and engagement with stakeholders emanating from its earlier circular referenced FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/06/004 of September 28, 2016, in which the tentative requirements for Executive Compliance Officers and Chief Compliance Officers of deposit money banks were mooted.

(READ MORE:CBN moves to ring-fence Disco collections)

Meanwhile, the requirements and responsibilities of Executive Compliance Officers remain as earlier communicated in the circular dated 28 September 2016.

A part of the recent circular signed by Mr. Kevin read thus,

READ: CBN grants approval for banks to debit accounts of loan defaulters 

“Further to the circular referenced FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/06/004 of 28 September 2016 on the appointment of Executive Compliance Officers (ECO) and Chief Compliance Officers (CCO) of deposit money banks, the CBN has, after due considerations and presentations by stakeholders on the size, structure, operation, and dynamics of classes of operators in the sectors reviewed the requirements for the appointment of Chief Compliance Officers.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked rumours that its website was hacked. This was disclosed via its official Twitter handle in the early hours of today.

Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website 

Explore Some Advanced Financial Calculators On Nairametrics

The apex bank assured the Nigerian public that there was no cause for alarm and it would do everything within its statutory power to protect its proprietary data from being breached.

READ: #EndSARS: National Human Rights Commission sets up independent investigative panel

CBN Website Not Hacked pic.twitter.com/nZFdabmARo

— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) October 16, 2020

READ: $70 billion per annum will be needed to tackle pandemic induced poverty – World Bank

The press release concluded by advising the Nigerian public to ignore such false claims, designed at undermining the credibility of the CBN.

Backstory

Nigerians were shocked yesterday when the website of the CBN was temporarily off the grid, leaving many to suspect that it may have been hacked. Recall that Anonymous, an international hackers group, had earlier claimed via its Twitter handle, that it breached some Nigerian government websites.

READ: CBN invests over N120 billion on 320,000 farmers across CTG within four years

The act is said to be in support of the ongoing #EndSARS protests that have taken over many cities in Nigeria, following calls for the disbandment of the notorious police unit – FSARS.

Globally renowned credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has reaffirmed that Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and its subsidiary, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, have retained their National Long-Term’ AAA (nga)’ and National Short-Term’ F1+(nga)’ ratings.

Fitch Ratings is a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary and research for global markets. The National Long-Term’ AAA (nga)’ and National Short-Term’ F1+(nga)’ Ratings are the highest possible ratings on Fitch’s rating scale.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC were rated high based on the potential support from their parent company, Standard Bank Group, which is based in South Africa.

According to Fitch Ratings, both organisations retained their ratings as a result of the vital role they play in Standard Bank Group’s primary operations in West Africa as well as its size and high operational integration.

“The National Long-Term Ratings on Stanbic IBTC Bank’s N30 billion senior unsecured notes and the National Long- and Short-Term Ratings on the N150 billion structured note programme for senior unsecured debt are in line with the Bank’s issuer ratings,” Fitch says.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC is a subsidiary of the Standard Bank Group. Its principal operating entity is Stanbic IBTC Bank, a mid-tier commercial bank, which represented 96 per cent of the holding company’s consolidated assets at the end of 2019.

Both entities are highly integrated with Standard Bank Group’s risk-management framework with access to Standard Bank Group’s competitive advantages relative to peers. This also includes connectivity to its network and the ability to serve large domestic and multinational companies.

The ‘AAA (nga)’ is given to issuers with the lowest expectation of default risk when compared with their competitors. The National Short-Term Rating of ‘F1+(nga)’ is assigned to issuers that have the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments in comparison to other issuers in Nigeria