Posted by By Akinola Ajibade, Business Reporter on
The former acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank Plc,Mr John Aboh, has warned banks against writing off risks during boom periods to prevent financial crisis.
The former acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank Plc,Mr John Aboh, has warned banks against writing off risks during boom periods to prevent financial crisis.
He said banks in Europe and United States did not consider good risks management and are paying for it today.
Aboh told The Nation that only such measures could prevent Nigerian banks from having crisis in the proportion what is plaguing financial institutions in United States, Europe, and other major economies.
He said any economy or banking industry could fall into such predicament if necessary steps were neglected.
He said: "What happens is that people forget risks management always. They should remember that good banking practice is the only antidote to crisis affecting the world.
He said that, when a good banking practice is in place, there would be conscious efforts to make risks properly mitigated.
Aboh, an out-going Executive Director, First Bank Nigeria Plc said that Nigerian banks must mitigate their risks well to avert huge crisis.
Also, the out going Managing Director/Chief executive officer, First Bank Nigeria Plc, Mr Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe advised banks to go back to the basics and avoid the mistakes of leveraging on innovations.
Ajekigbe said that banks, often times, leverage too much on their visions, and often in the process incur problems that are difficult to solve.
Ajekigbe said that banks were in a trying moment, noting that the global financial crisis was not the best of times for banks and the bankers respectively.
He, however, said that irrespective of the untoward developments in the global financial markets, bankers were critical in achieving the development objectives of any country or economy.
He advised banks to see themselves as major drivers of growth to be able to contribute to the economic development.
Ajekigbe's statements may not be unconnected with the allegations that banks in spite of the deep vaults are not providing facilities to sectors such as Manufacturing and small and medium scale enterprises.
This issue has pitched the banks against the members of the organised private sector (OPS) that are accusing the former of compounding the problems of the real sector in the country.