IslamicFinance.de

Nigerian Jaiz Bank has increased its branch network to ten, with the commissioning of its Katsina branch. The bank commenced operations with three branches in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano states on January 6, 2012, after it received licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria on November 11, 2011, to operate as a non-interest bank. The bank now has branches in Gombe, Maiduguri, Katsina, and two branches in Kano. The bank has also added two branches in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The branches are located at the National Assembly and Wuse District. According to the chairman, board of directors of Jaiz Bank, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, there are plans to open additional branches in Bauchi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa states and at the Bayero University Kano, Federal Secretariat Abuja and Zaria, before the end of year 2013.

Nigeria and other African countries need to tap into opportunities provided by Islamic financing to fund infrastructure development on the continent, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has said. He stated this yesterday in Abuja at a conference on “Infrastructure Development through Alternative Funding (Islamic Finance) in Africa”. He said Sukuk, if well developed, could serve as a financing option for governments as is already evident in countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The acting managing director of Jaiz Bank, Usman Hassan, urged the federal government to conclude the development of the framework for the issuance of Sukuk in the country. This is necessary because with Sukuk you cannot have failed projects and funds cannot be diverted.

Jaiz Bank Plc has announced the appointment of the General Manager in charge of the Bank’s Business Development Group, Hassan Usman as the Acting Managing Director. Hassan is a trained Chartered Accountant and a seasoned Banker with international experience. The appointment follows the resignation of the Managing Director, Muhammed Mustapha Bintube after almost 10 years of service. Jaiz commenced operations on the January 6, 2012, in three locations, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna with additional branches opening soon in Maiduguri, Gombe and Katsina.

The initial storm regarding the introduction of Non-Interest Banking (NIB) is gradually settling down. Now it is important to start exhuming the challenges that might crop up in its operations. Especially the taxation of the sub-sector by the relevant tax authorities and the corresponding setting of standards for the type of taxes that apply and that are to be collected from the transactions is extremely important. If the CBN manages to meet the regulatory requirements, it is empowered by law to issue licenses to appropriate entities for the establishment of non-interest banks.