CBN Lauds Osun, Sterling Bank’s Support For Financial Inclusion (FI) scheme

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commended Sterling Bank Plc and the Osun State Government, for their roles in deepening agent banking and Financial Inclusion (FI) initiatives.This commendation came, even as the apex bank advised other financial institutions to ensure that more Nigerians currently unbanked are brought into the financial services net.
The Assistant Director of Payment Policy and Oversight Banking Payment System at CBN, Olushola Agboola, who conveyed the message at the workshop organized for Banks and Other Financial Institutions on financial inclusion and agent banking, in Oshogbo, Osun State, also called for more to be done to ensure wider reach.
As fallout of the agent banking scheme, which Sterling Bank launched in Lagos last year and extended to Osun, the financial institution has empowered over 100 indigenes of the state.
The bank’s Head of Financial Inclusion, Richard Osungboye, said with collaborative efforts between CBN and the state government, the percentage of rural people yet to be captured in the financial system will reduce significantly.
He particularly commended the state government’s plan to adopt the “Cooperative Model” for the establishment of microfinance banks as approved by CBN.
GUARDIAN