Jaiz Bank to introduce sharia compliant investment instruments- MD

In its efforts to tackle liquidity challenges, the managing director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Mallam Hassan Usman, said the bank is in process of developing sharia compliant investment instruments in Nigeria.

He disclosed that the corporation wishes Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Federal Ministry of Finance to expedite the commencement process.

The newly appointed Jaiz Bank boss said this during a courtesy visit with some of his top management staff to Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) office.

He assured the Managing Director NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim that the bank had established and maintained high standards of corporate governance that were driven by checks and balances to ensure that insider credits were not only performing but also kept within the approved regulatory limits.

Mallam Usman emphasized that apart from the bank’s board oversight, its Advisory Committee of Experts (ACE), also looked into every aspect of the bank’s operations and transactions to ensure compliance with financial regulations and Islamic principles.

Speaking ahead, the NDIC boss advised the new management of Jaiz Bank to strengthen corporate governance in order to weather the storm of economic challenges that is currently facing Nigeria’s banking industry.

Ibrahim said that good corporate governance was very crucial to the bank at a time of planning to expand its operations following its recent issuance with a National banking licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

While congratulating the bank on its issuance with the national banking licence by the CBN, the NDIC boss also advised the bank to be careful in its expansion plans in order to ensure seamless service delivery to its customers.

According to him, as a pioneer in non-interest banking, the bank should partner with its peers such as Stanbic IBTC and Sterling Bank which have non-interest banking windows in order to explore more sharia compliant instruments.

He also drew the attention of the bank to the interest being shown by Muslims and non Muslims to its banking products and advised the bank to step up its public enlightenment efforts on the benefits of its products and services in order to increase deposits’ mobilisation.

The NDIC boss also noted the challenges being faced by the bank in investing its excess liquidity due to the absence of sharia compliant investment windows, such as the “Sukuk”(project financing) and other Islamic bonds and portfolios.

He noted that while a lot of countries had tapped into the “Sukuk” investment window, Nigeria was still lagging behind in exploring such shari’a compliant investment opportunities.

He, therefore, urged the Jaiz Bank’s management to collaborate with the Bankers’ Committee, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Debt Management Office (DMO) and other relevant agencies toward the introduction of “sukuk” and other shari’a compliant investment products in order to be competitive.