The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on knowledge- sharing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the pact was signed at the World Conference of Banking Institutes (WCBI), which ended on Friday in Lagos

The Secretary-General of the NBA, Mr Isiaka Olagunju, said the two bodies would soon commence courses on law, loan processing and documentations to enable them function maximally.

“The collaboration is very important to build the capacities of bankers, who are not knowledgeable in the field of law and lawyers who are not knowledgeable in the practice of banking.”

He said that if the terms and tenets of the MOU were strictly complied with, there would be less rancour in the banking sector because every banker would know how to enter into any agreement.

“A banker will know laws guiding loan processing, likewise, if a lawyer wants to handle a banking case, he will know the extent to go.

“In the next five years, 70 per cent of banking cases would have been settled out of court because the lawyer can advise clients to toe the part of honour, instead of years in court.” Olagunju said.

The President of the CIBN, Prof. Olusegun Ajibola, said the institute would continue to collaborate with other bodies.

According to him, in the last one year, the institute has perfected collaborative talks with the Institute of Management and National Open University.

He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had also appointed CIBN the sole accreditation agency for implementation of competency framework for the banking sector.

NAN reports that the conference also witnessed the launch of the Global Education Standard Board (GESB), aimed at re-building public confidence in the global banking system.

The theme of the conference is: “Re-thinking the Future of Banking and Finance and Life-long Learning.’ (NAN)