The chairman of Nigeria’s first non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, Umaru Abdul-Mutallab, has stressed the role of non-interest banking in driving economic growth.
He said this on Monday in Abuja during his address at a dinner to mark the 10th anniversary of the bank.
According to him, the bank was established to drive growth in different sectors of the economy.
He said the establishment process of the bank took about ten years, adding that the recapitalisation policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which occurred in 2005, delayed the launch of the bank’s operations.
“In 2005, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a programme of reforms which created a new minimum paid up capital for all banks, from N2bn naira to N25bn.
“As at that time, we had raised N2bn and ready to start but after the CBN announcement, we had to go back again and look for money
“The birth of a non-interest bank is not easy feat, we have spent up to 10 years, if not more, doing necessary preparations before even taking off because we were determined to take off and so far, we have contributed immensely to non-interest banking because we believe it is crucial in driving economic growth in Nigeria,” Mutallab said.
He added that the bank, which started in 2012 as the pioneer Islamic non-interest bank, had grown significantly, setting the pace for other Islamic banks.
He also said, “Our mission is to ensure investments in critical sectors that will drive economic growth. Since coming onboard, some Islamic banks have also been established and many more are coming.”
Mutallab noted that the collective efforts of shareholders, partners and investors, have made it possible for the bank to become a model for social impact in the banking sector.
During the anniversary, the Islamic Financial Services Industry Stability Report 2022 was launched.