Banks critical to AfCFTA’s success- Ecobank MD
The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr patrick Akinwuntun has said the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area will depend heavily on the financial services industry’s ability to facilitate the liberalization process.
The bank quoted him as saying this in a statement on Sunday titled, “Banks are pivotal to success of AfCFTA- Ecobank MD.
He said the banking industry in Nigeria was ready for the implementation of the AfCFTA, adding that it would be responsible for facilitating transactions, mobilizing savings, allocating capital funds and monitoring managers so that the funds allocated would be utilized as envisaged, as well as managing risks.
Akinwuntun said, “Nigerian banks have strong capital and their operating synergies have been tremendous for the past five years, particularly in the digital banking space.
“Nigeria is a leading player on the continent in payments required to facilitate trade, mobilization of savings required to galvanize the economy, focus on the SME segment, which is the largest employer of labour, especially in the critical industries such as agriculture, as Africa is a continent that is rich in commodities, education of our teeming population and health”.
