News
4 Months after CBN’s Deadline, Banks March Lazily to IFRS

Nigeria banking industry has reported a sluggish progress in the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), two years after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), began moves to integrate the banking system into the global best practices in financial reporting and disclosure, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report.
The CBN deadline for the adoption of IFRS was January this year and four months after, only a handful of Nigerian banks have completed or are in the process of converting to IFRS touted to have the capabilities of enhancing market discipline and reducing uncertainties which limit the risk of unwarranted contagion.
Nigerian banks and other significant public interest entities (that is, entities that are required by law to file returns to regulators) in the financial services industry are required to adopt IFRS by January 1, 2012.
Other non-listed entities and public interest entities in the financial services industry will adopt IFRS in 2013.
By that time, they are all expected to move from Statement of Accounting Standard (SAS), the accounting standard issued by the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board to IFRS
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations however revealed that Access Bank, Ecobank, FirstBank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered and UBA are among the first banks to complete the transition and have as well adopted the standard for their reporting.
Others are still grappling with the challenges of complying with the new standards.
Among the major challenges banks face in adopting IFRS include understanding the value of IFRS against the current GAAP.
Banks are also finding it difficult to understand the value it will bring to their business, especially around true position of balance sheet and P&L, as well as trust from their foreign banking partners.
Prior to the adoption of IFRS, the local financial industry seemed oblivious of it and hence the huge knowledge gap around IFRS.
An IFRS expert involved in the implementation and training on IFRS who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek identified other challenges as fear of failure of the project and not getting it right, which delays its adoption.
According to the expert, this led to some banks looking for alternatives like manual conversion using excel sheet.
The expert noted some challenges around the speed at which regulations are churned out, which affects the speed at which the bank plans the projects to be compliant and make budgets.
“We have seen that while IFRS is still on going, we are hearing about Basel II about to start, seminars are being held, while this is happening, NUBAN numbering came out, suddenly, Cashless economy starts etc. The banks are constantly on the edge. So priority of projects comes into play, internal decision process delays everything,” the expert added.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that numerous exposure drafts demonstrate that IFRS will continue to change in the near term as well as in 2012 and beyond.
Nigerian financial services entities need to think carefully about the implications of upcoming changes as well as changes likely to occur after their 2012 and 2013 changeover to IFRS.
Charley Best, vice president at IFRS Partners, said the biggest challenge for banks is the huge amount of change as regards customer master profile.
“As a background, the most important thing about IFRS is that it exposes more information and that is the challenge itself. They need to have all the details around payment history and all the records have to be up to date,” he said.
Professor Francis Ojaide, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) said only organizations willing to embrace change, invest in capacity building both technical and human will benefit from the new financial reporting framework, which has the capacity to broaden and enhance their accessibility to global capital markets.
Benefits of adopting IFRS cannot be over emphasized as it attracts Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), reduces cost of doing business across borders by eliminating the need for supplementary information from Nigerian companies.
It gives assurance of useful and meaningful decisions on investment portfolio in Nigeria, and assures easier access to external capital for local and domestic companies.
Adoption of IFRS facilitates easy consolidation of financial information of the same company with offices in different countries, gives easier regulation of financial information of entities in Nigeria and Enhances knowledge of global financial reporting standards by tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
News
NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.
The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.
In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.
“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.
“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.
“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”
Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.
“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.
17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.
News
Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).
Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.
“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.
She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,
Learning through experience
Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.
Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.
Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.
Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.
World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.
The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.
The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.
News
CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.
Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.
The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.
It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.
Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.
He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.
According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.
“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.
“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”
The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.
He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.
Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.
“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.
“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.
“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.
The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.
All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.
- E-Financial3 days ago
Kuda Unveils New Wallet for Multiple Currencies
- Telecom3 days ago
Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt
- Telecom3 days ago
Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration
- E-Business3 days ago
How AI Alert by Airtel is Transforming Mobile Security in Africa
- E-Business3 days ago
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content
- Telecom2 days ago
Glo Launches Nigeria’s First-of-its-kind Device Protection Plan
- Telecom2 days ago
Telcos: How and Why Network Services have Been Poor
- News3 days ago
Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth