TheCable

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made it mandatory for every microfinance bank branch to acquire 64 new customers monthly.

This was contained in a circular issued to microfinance banks on the revised financial inclusion target.

Going by the BVN registration data, each microfinance bank branch is expected to have 774 new bank branches every year.

The directive was said to have been reached at a stakeholders forum organised for financial services providers in the six geo-political zones by the CBN.

According to the circular signed by Tokunbo Martins, CBN’s director of other financial institutions department, the instruction was necessary because all stakeholders have to increase efforts towards achieving the 80% financial inclusion target by 2020.

“Given the urgency of this task, it is important to cascade the target to your branches for their information and implementation,” the apex bank said.

“A monthly report/update on new customers on-boarded should be submitted to the Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department.”

As at the end of 2018, the nation’s financial inclusion rate was 63.2%, leaving an inclusion gap of 36.8%.

The National Financial Inclusion Strategy was launched in October 2012, a period where the inclusion rate was 46.3% and revised in 2018.