The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has elected Prof. Bayo Olugbemi as the 21st President of the institute, alongside other officers whose tenure would run from 2020 to 2022.
The announcement of Olugbemi’s emergence, along with other elected officers, was one of the highlights of the institute’s virtual Annual General Meeting on Saturday, where it reviewed the 2019 financial and operational reports.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting which was coordinated and chaired by Dr Uche Olowu, who Olugbemi will succeed as president, had members participating from across the world.
Speaking on the 2019 operations, Olowu informed members that the institute had made noteworthy improvement as a reference point in the country and across the globe.
He said that all the CIBN subsidiaries from the Centre for Financial Studies to the Press were maintaining winning ways and would continue to experience improved performance.
In the area of capacity building, he said the Institute had reviewed the syllabus of the flagship Associate of Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) qualification in conjunction with a top consulting firm (PwC).
According to him, this is in a bid to keep the ACIB qualification relevant and ensure that the contents meet with the global standard.
He said that the electronic library which consisted of electronic books, journals and other resources provided round-the-clock information and had been acquired by the CIBN Library for easy access to its users.
Olowu said that a former president of the Institute, Dr Olusegun Aina, had been re-elected as a Chairman of the Global Education Standard Board.
He also said the Institute had expanded its examination centres to Liberia, bringing the number of foreign examination outposts to five, with one in Katsina state, Nigeria.
In the area of collaboration, Olowu said that the Bankers’ Committee had approved Ethics Certification for the staff of banks.
He said that 87,000 bank staff had registered on the e-learning platform, and a sizeable number had completed the certification programme.
NAN reports that members commended Olowu for his two-year leadership (2018-2020).
At the event, the National Treasurer of the institute, Prof. Deji Olanrewaju, gave the financial highlights of the Institute in 2019.
He listed some of the following key developments; a 7.1% increase in Net Operating Surplus of the Institute from N539million (2018) to N577million (2019).
Similarly, there was a 5.8% increase in total income from 1.47 billion (2018) to N1.55 billion (2019) and a 6.9% increase in IGR from N1.16 billion (2018) to N1.24 billion (2019).
Also, Mr Mark Ariemuduigho of Baker Tilly International Nigeria, external auditors of the institute, gave reports for 2019 financials and stated that the financial position of the CIBN was in agreement with the book of accounts.
The Chairman of the CIBN Audit Committee, Mr Babatunde Oduwaye, affirmed that the accounting and reporting policies of the institute were in accordance with legal requirements and ethical practices.
