CBN Hails Access Bank, Others on Sustainable Banking Principles

James Emejo in Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) lauded Access Bank Plc’s commitment to sustainable banking principles.
Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Sustainable Banking, Dr. Aisha Mahmood, gave the commendation at roundtable jointly hosted with the European Organisation for Sustainable Development in Abuja.

The discussion which also featured the CBN Director, Banking Supervision Department, Mr. Mustafa Haruna, and Access Bank Deputy Managing Director, Chizoba Okoli, among others, seeks to stimulate a world class sustainable banking and financing through embracing holistic sustainability standards for senior executives of commercial banks.

Mahmood said three Nigeria financial institutions namely Access Bank, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and Bank of Industry (BoI) had shown tremendous commitment in the implementation of sustainable principles in the financial sector.

According to her, Access Bank remained the first African commercial bank to be sustainability certified by the EOSD in 2020 while DBN became the first development financial institution and the second in Africa to be sustainability certified.
She said, ‘I am positive that this workshop will motivate other financial institutions to adopt the SSCI to build resilient economies that work for environment, businesses and the society.

“Since the adoption of the Nigerian sustainability banking principles, the Nigerian financial institutions have been integrating economic and social framework to manage risks and opportunities in their business processes and activities. So, the adoption of these iconic certification standards will go a long way in helping us in shaping that process.”

She pointed out that the apex bank is currently reviewing the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principle, which has been implemented for over a decade to align the framework with global best practices.

On her part, Okoli said the programme was extremely timely and offered an opportunity to discuss sustainability in line with global best practices.
She said the event provided a platform to further reflect on how the Nigeria financial sector has embedded sustainability and the subsequent actions required for a good performance.

According to her, “There has been conscious efforts to embrace partnership, develop initiatives, policies, and regulations to address issues such as climate change, inequality, human rights to mention a few.

“In achieving the overall development agenda, getting financing right and sustainable banking is very critical. In fact, without this, the global community will not be able to meet the development goals by 2030.

“For us at Access Bank, our commitment to sustainability has yielded great benefits, we have made significant progress in embedding sustainability and a core of our business decisions, operations and practices thereby impacting lives positively now and in the future.”