On Wednesday, September 26, 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria officially released on its website a circular to all Banks, Discount houses and Development Finance Institutions in Nigeria to commence implementation of the Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles.
Over the last 12 months, FMO (together with IFC) as technical advisors have been working with the Nigeria banking community to develop guiding principles and sector guidelines (Power, Oil and Gas and Agriculture) that will enable the financial sector address Environmental & Social issues in their lending and investment decisions. The documents were formally presented to and approved by the Bankers Committee (comprising of all banks CEOs and the Central bank Governor) in July.
The Central Bank of Nigeria now requires all banks to establish internal Environmental & Social frameworks to identify, assess and mitigate Environmental & Social risks in their lending activities in the coming 12-18 months. The Central Bank has also formally directed that all banks establish sustainability desks that will actively execute the implementation process.
While FMO recognizes that it has been a challenging assignment for the banking community to define its sustainability pathway in an ever increasing competitive environment, the experience has been rewarding as the banks now acknowledge they have an approach that is truly theirs, owned and driven by them. FMO is also proud of the role it has played as a sparring partner supporting the industry’s efforts in this area through its capacity development programme.
Click here to see the full circular and principles.
