The Banking sector in Nigeria says it will continue to contribute to national development, by contributing to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
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The President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr Ken Okpara, made the pledge in Abuja on Thursday, when he led the leader of the Bankers Institute on a courtesy visit to Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He said the slowdown in economic activities was responsible for depletion in the banking sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP but that tide is already changing.
“Essentially the banking sector represents the engine of growth and that is very important. They serve as catalysts for economic growth. What you saw with the growth in terms of our GDP contribution is what happened during the period of the last quarter where there was a slowdown in economic activities.
“But what we are seeing now is that banks are also deepening access to financial support especially to the key sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, small businesses and infrastructure.
‘So, we are going to see growth in the financial system as we move on, especially before the end of this financial year,” he assured Nigeirans.
Mr Okpara also highlighted other areas of collaboration between the Nigerian government and the Chartered Institute of Bankers.
“The Vice President used the opportunity to share his vision and how we can work together; he talked about digital education, which is very important and we assured him that the Chartered Institute of Bankers will actually identify with the key initiatives in that area especially in the financial and economic sectors of our country,” he added.
