The Federal Government has concluded plans to align its fiscal, monetary and trade policies to stimulate economic growth.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who gave this indication said that sectoral policies were being implemented to diversify the economy by boosting investments in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction and the digital economy.
He made these known during his opening remarks at the 22nd World Conference of Banking Institutes hosted by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday.
He said, “Our effort to restore growth depends very much on improved macroeconomic conditions. Accordingly, fiscal, monetary and trade policies will be aligned to stimulate the economy and support growth while preventing overheating.
“Sectoral policies are also being implemented to diversify the economy by boosting investments in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, finance, construction and the digital economy.”
According to Osinbajo who was represented by Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Mr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, the financial sector is expected to mobilise the resources required for Federal Government’s domestic and external borrowings to underpin plan execution.
The Deposit Money Banks, Osinbajo noted, were vital to the implementation of the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
He said the government was already making progress to enhance the business environment in the country.
He said, “We have just come to the end of a 60-day period during which we took major steps to improve the business environment, especially as pertains to the entry and exit of people and goods and to improve transparency of government processes and procedures. We achieved 31 reforms in the last 60 days in areas relating to company registration, obtaining construction permits, getting credit, palletisation of imports and obtaining visas on arrival.
“Ultimately, however, development is about people. This is why our plan places emphasis on education and health outcomes. Moreover, it includes a social investment programme that combines job creation with a stimulus package, value-addition and empowerment of economically vulnerable groups.”
Earlier in his remarks, the President, CIBN, Prof. Segun Ajibola, said the theme of the conference, ‘Rethinking the future of banking and finance and life-long learning’, was germane to current experiences in the global banking space.
He said although the future of banking remained speculative, there were clear indications that a number of factors would continue to disrupt some established banking models.
Highlighting these factors, he said, “Some of these include increased competition from non-traditional competitors such as FinTech, “more fragmented” banking with incumbents losing more pieces as consumers build their own suite of products from a multitude of providers; and increased specialisation to serve specific customer needs with speed and adequate value for money.
“Similarly, as technology is disrupting the nature of work at an unprecedented rate, there is the need for a new and inclusive approach to learning on the job.”
The event was attended by several dignitaries including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos.
The Ooni advised banks to desist from the practice of using women to attract deposits from wealthy men.
Source: The Punch
