The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has admonished the Management of Jaiz Bank Plc to embark on intensive public awareness and financial education on the benefits of non-interest banking practice in the country in order to improve the volume of patronage.The MD/CE of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, who gave the admonition, noted that the benefits of profit and loss banking is a mutually rewarding partnership among all participants in the Islamic Banking in line with its business practices.

Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim stated this during a courtesy call by the Managing Director of Jaiz Bank Plc, Mr. Muhammad Nurul Islam, and other top management staff of the bank who visited the Corporation’s head office in Abuja to brief it on recent developments in the bank.

The NDIC boss informed the team that the Corporation had developed a non-interest banking deposit insurance fund framework in May 2015 which is designed to create a level playing field and provide deposit protection for depositors involved in non-interest banking and protect them against any possible losses. He reiterated that the Corporation had trained its staff in Malaysia in this special area of expertise. He said the Corporation is in the process of appointing committee of experts to advise it on all issues relating to Deposits Insurance Scheme (DIS) for non interest banking.

He, however, noted that the dearth of viable investment windows like SUKUK and other Sharia compliant investment portfolios would require collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Debt Management Office (DMO), Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to develop Sharia permissible investment products. He also noted the challenges facing the Corporation due to lack of investment instruments for premium collected from the non-interest banking subsector.

Alh. Umaru Ibrahim congratulated the Management of Jaiz Bank Plc on the recent approval-in-principle license it obtained from the CBN to become a national bank and the waiver granted to it on the reduction of its liquidity ratio from 30% to 10% in order to create a level playing field as well as engender healthy competition. He tasked the bank to imbibe sound corporate governance practices and guard against insider abuses stressing that the success of the bank would go a long way in addressing poverty alleviation and promote the growth and development of the poor who are mostly engaged in small and medium scale businesses throughout the country.

The MD Jaiz Bank Plc, Mr. Nurul Islam, in his remarks expressed his Management’s gratitude for the assistance it received from the supervisory authorities particularly from the NDIC. He informed the Corporation that the bank had engaged the Bankers Committee and other stakeholders especially the Debt Management Office (DMO) on the establishment of SUKUK Bond and other Sharia permissible investment platforms for non-interest banks in Nigeria. He stated that in terms of growth, Jaiz Bank had achieved in less than 4 years what took its counterpart in Bangladesh 17 years to achieve. He stated that Jaiz Bank Plc. had granted Islamic infrastructure bond facilities to some state governments in the Country. He also stated that that the bank has established a charity foundation as part of its corporate social responsibility to the society.

•Photo shows L-R: NDIC MD/CE Alh. Umaru Ibrahim and NDIC Executive Director Operations, Prince Aghatise Erediauwa, in chat with MD/CE Jaiz Bank Plc Mr. Muhammad Nurul Islam, during a courtesy visit of the Jaiz Bank Management Team to the Corporation.