The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria says it has introduced a Human Capital Retention Fund to address the trend of mass emigration bank workers out of the country.

President and Chairman of Council of CIBN, Ken Opara, disclosed this on Thursday when he led a team from the institute on a dialogue with the leadership and members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.

While speaking on contributions of the institute to the banking industry, Opara said the institute had embarked on several key initiatives in its effort to support the industry and the economy at large.

He said, “Some of the initiatives include, strategic intervention in industry related issues such as the japa issue with the introduction of Human Capital Retention Fund. This has given rise to the Banking School project which will commence later.

He added that the institute also collaborated with Afreximbank to run certification programme in the area of trade as well as collaboration with Pan-African Payment and Settlement System.

Opara also commended the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Sen Adetokunbo Abiru, for his role in ensuring economic growth.

He appreciated the committee for the support it is giving to the institute towards the review of Extant Laws in the financial sector.

He said the team’s visit was meant to seek the Senator’s assistance in the passage of the proposed CIBN Act Bill and share thoughts on key issues and initiatives affecting the banking and finance industry.

He said, “We commend the Institute for being sensitive to the economic situation which necessitated your invitation of the Governor of CBN for a brief over the state of the economy. The engagements you had and the issues you raised such as Inflation, FX, IMTO and the clarification on the 43 banned items are all issues of interest to the banking public.

“We also commend you on the proactive steps taken by this committee to comprehensively review the extant laws within the financial services sector, aimed at fostering economic sustainability and growth.

“We applaud the committee for the review of the 2024 budget of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies under the supervisory purview of the Committee. We also commend you for the continuous initiatives emplaced to ensure that MDAs under the supervisory purview of the Committee are properly run in line with sound Corporate Governance principles.”

Japa, the slang for migration in Nigeria, which literally means escape, has seen many skilled workers migrate to countries such as the United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada.

The banking sector has been one of the most hit by the japa syndrome, as many bankers have left the country in recent times. (Sunday PUNCH)

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