In an effort to stabilise Nigerias financial sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has raised the base capital requirements for banks, leading to fresh capital- raising efforts and the likely consolidation of the sector.
Twenty years ago, when chaos ruled Nigerias banking sector, the then Governor of the CBN, Chukwuma Charles Soludo above embarked on a similar exercise and the resulting bank consolidation reduced the number of banks from 89 to 24. That exercise was a watershed in Nigerias financial system and transformed the business landscape, repositioning Nigerias banks as top players in Africa and globally.
It was also Soludos suggestion that Africas still nascent financial sector needed a dedicated publication on the industry that led to the establishment of African Banker magazine.
The newspaper headlines, 20 years ago, said that your attempts to clean out the Augean banking stables were an impossible task. How did you manage it?I want to give my appreciation for the incredible team that I worked with, particularly the three Deputy Governors, Dr Tunde Lemo, Dr Sarah Alade and Ernest Ebi. It was a major piece of teamwork. I also want to thank the Nigerian people and other stakeholders for their massive support, because it was nothing short of a revolution then.
As you said, the newspaper headlines before the banking consolidation were that it was impossible. And we went through hell then. Three quarters of the hair on my head disappeared during that period!
