NDIC collaborates deposit insurance agencies to address challenges

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said it had embarked on collaboration and cooperation with other deposit insurance agencies globally to address the challenges facing the insurance industry. The NDIC Managing Director/Chief Executive, Bello Hassan, said this at a retreat organised by the Corporation for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, on Thursday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the aim of the workshop, with theme, “Deposit Insurance in Nigeria: Restrategising for Tomorrow,” was to help lawmakers know the corporation’s problems towards amending the NDIC Act.

“Our world as we know, is rapidly changing. Innovations and threats to existing models of business, regulation and supervision are manifesting in our operations Regulators in financial systems across the globe are also brainstorming on fresh ideas to ensure that the financial system remains resilient, sound and stable so as to continue to play its supportive role in the economy. The NDIC is, therefore, not left out in restrategising to enhance its operations,” said Hassan. According to him, the Corporation has enhanced collaboration with relevant stakeholders like National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget & National Planning, the Judiciary and the CBN on almost all relevant activities. We are also active on the global scene, and have, therefore, embarked on robust collaboration and cooperation with deposit insurance agencies and global bodies, particularly in the area of knowledge and information sharing.

“The aim of these efforts is to effectively address the technological, legal, regulatory, and supervisory challenges facing the deposit insurance system,” he said. He encouraged financial institutions to effectively manage the risks arising from these new technologies and other innovations to ensure continued safety and soundness of the monetary system. The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Darlington Nwokocha, said, “the aim of the retreat is to make laws to help NDIC boost the confidence of the people that their monies are safe.

“And if they don’t have that confidence, we can’t achieve a very stable economy because the banking sector will be disstabilised as well as the economy. So we need them, they need us at this point where we look at the laws; considering again the dynamics in the society. Like now, there are few things that we have found in the present NDIC Act that we need to amend so as to give them more power to achieve their mandate more effectively,” he said.