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Jaiz Bank Plc, the non-interest Islamic bank, is set to commence operations in Ibadan, Oyo State before the end of this year as it moves to expand its operations in the South West, according to the Group Head, Public Sector of the bank, Mallam Ismail Adamu. He said all documentation and other logistics to this end were already being put in place. Adamu said the bank made a profit of N157m in 2014 and gave out up to N500m in charity through an arm of the bank called JAIZ Foundation. Chairman of the Zonal Committee for the Operation, Alhaji Lasun Sanusi (SAN), said the bank was aware of the teething problems it would face, expressing optimism, however, it would survive because of the success it has so far recorded.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised stakeholders in the financial services sector to adopt sustainable practices to strike a balance between economic development and the protection of the ecosystem. Speaking at a workshop on sustainable finance, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, represented by his special adviser on sustainable banking, Dr. A'isha Usman Mahmood, tasked the stakeholders to include environmental protection in addition to maximising profit and returns on investments. The apex bank hinged its advice on the positive nexus between environmental, social management and improved economic performance, which it said were being keyed into by financial institutions worldwide.

The International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria(ICCN) is set to admit about 11 new members at its 16th annual general meeting billed for Lagos this month. ICCN secretary-general, Mrs. Olubunmi Osuntuyi, said in a statement that the new members are: Anu Eso & Co., Enterprise Transport & Logistics Ltd., Heritage Banking Company Ltd., Jaiz Bank Plc., Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, Nigerian Ports Authority, Norfolk Partners, Onwuamaegbu & Co., Rand Merchant Bank Ltd., Sola Ephraim-Oluwanuga & Co. and Strachan Partners. The statement said the AGM which would be sponsored by Sterling Bank Plc would feature the traditional Post- AGM Talk to be delivered by Bismarck Rewane.

Jaiz Bank Plc, has declared a profit of N157.7 million for the financial year ended December 2014. By this, the bank has broken even after three years of operations as the first and only fully fledged non-interest bank in Nigeria. Chairman of the bank, Dr Umaru Abdul Mutallab said the profit was a feat considering that there was no platform yet for the bank to make income from its treasury management activities due to the absence of Sharia complaint liquidity instruments in the market. He therefore called for a national Sukuk bond, that would give them a wider range of investment opportunities. Shareholders of the bank called on the management to work seriously towards recapitalising it to fast-track its expansion to other parts of the country.

President of the Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Abdulahi Yomi Bolarinwa, speaks on how uneducated many Nigerians are on Islamic banking, resulting in uninformed comments on the financial practice. About his expectations from the incoming administration, he said the incoming government should work hard to improve the economy. The government should retool whatever Nigeria has in the power supply, work on its oil industry and explore other sources of income so that the country does not depend on one product - oil. NASFAT recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. The organisation teaches Nigerians to respect other religions and live in peace.

Professor Shehu Usman Rano Aliyu, Director of the International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance at Bayero University, Nigeria stated Islamic banking and finance is the best option for tackling challenges faced by the Nigerian economy. Meanwhile, Usman Hassan, CEO of Jaiz Bank, urged the Nigerian government to take a closer look at sovereign sukuk issuances to fund infrastructure projects. He stated that sukuk were very apt for Nigeria, as there are no failed projects and the financier (investor) will not allow abuse. He urged to government to look at the structure of sukuk to see how it can be of benefit to the economy as a source of FDI from a new diverse investor base.

A forensic audit of Nigeria’s state oil firm released on Monday confirmed the accusation by Emir Muhammed Sanusi that the NNPC withheld about $20 billion that it ought to have remitted to the national treasury. The report ordered released by President Goodluck Jonathan, more than two months after it was submitted by PriceWaterHouseCoopers confirmed that the NNPC illegally expended $18.53 billion on operational costs, kerosene and petrol subsidies, without authorisation from the National Assembly. Part of the money was also withheld by an NNPC subsidiary, without National Assembly authorisation.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Jaiz Bank on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The objective of this collaboration is to design a cheap, affordable and sustainable financing product that will empower SMEs to expand their business operations, Alhaji Umar Masari, Director-General, SMEDAN said. According to him, the roles of SMEDAN in the MoU is to sensitise prospective beneficiaries to the benefit of the collaboration. The bank will facilitate MSME access to Federal Government’s MSME Development Funds, among others.

Nigeria and Ivory Coast have begun negotiations with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) for sukuk issuance. According to the ICD head Khaled Al-Aboodi, the two countries are looking to emulate Senegal’s successful move into the market for Islamic bonds. Al-Aboodi added that they were exploring with Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The issuance by Senegal has opened up the whole region, he said. The ICD hopes to support at least two countries in 2015 to issue a sukuk. Meanwhile, Niger has signed up for a sukuk programme worth 150 billion CFA francs ($260 million), although the timing has yet to be determined.

Chief Executive of Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), Khaled Al-Aboodi, says Nigeria and Ivory Coast are looking to emulate Senegal's successful move into the market for sukuk. Senegal, meanwhile, is discussing another sukuk after the ICD helped it arranged its debut $208 million Islamic bond last June. Nigeria's neighbour Niger has signed up for a sukuk programme worth 150 billion CFA francs ($260 million), although the timing has yet to be determined. Al-Aboodi said they hoped to issue the sukuk before the end of the year, adding that the tenor depended on its structure and investor appetite.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has inaugurated an advisory council for the implementation of the Takaful insurance product in the country. he Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, who inaugurated the council in Abuja, stated that the move was part of the implementation of some of the reforms in the insurance sector. The minister said the inauguration was the result of the National Insurance Commission’s resolve to key into the National Financial Inclusion Strategy introduced by the Federal Government in 2012. The Chairman of the advisory body, Prof. Dawud Noibi, said the council would do all within its power to effectively discharge its mandate.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finalised plans to opt for a centralised approach to regulate Islamic Banking in Nigeria. The CBN will set up an advisory body,known as the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts, that will oversee the industry in Nigeria. The council will be tasked with ensuring all banking products that are designated as Islamic conform to sharia principles. The advisory body will comprise a minimum of five members who will serve renewable two-year terms, and are restricted from working for any other financial institution supervised by the central bank. Moreover, the Council will be guided by the principles of sharia governance issued by the Malaysia-based Islamic Financial Services Board.

Muhammad Nurul Islam, managing director/chief executive officer of Jaiz Bank, explained that wholesale transparency in the bank’s regular operations at all levels has enabled it to move away from huge losses to break-even point in record time. However, there are also challenges for the bank, such as the need for a liquidity management instrument that is non-interest banking compliant to manage our excess liquidity. Islam also said that by 2016 end, the bank will have improved capital to enable it go outside the shores of Nigeria. So in the next five years, Jaiz Bank will go International and expand its business base.

The Representative of the Jaiz Bank in Nigeria, Dr. Mizanur Rahman, has disclosed the plan of the bank to extend its services to Kwara and Lagos states. He lamented that due to limited scope within the country, the bank lost about N1 billion but reiterated its hope that it would do well in 2015. Rahman made the statement at the jointly organised thematic workshop on Development of Islamic Banking in Africa at the Alhikmah University in Ilorin. The workshop was jointly organised by the Research and Training Institute (IRTI) in Saudi Arabia, the University of Ilorin and Al-Hikmah University.

The Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank Group and the African Development Bank are to jointly organize a workshop on the development of Islamic Banking in Africa to be held in Nigeria on January 6 - 8 2015. It is organized with the Al-Hikmah University as well as the Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin. The workshop will expect Experts in Islamic banking, regulation, and financial economics and take stock of current academic research, policies, practice and development of Islamic banking in Africa as well as current issues in Islamic banking and financial products, academics, regulators and practitioners of Islamic banking and finance from different African countries and from those who show considerable familiarity with the development of Islamic banking in Africa.

Nigeria’s insurance industry showed significant signs of positive gains in 2014. The sector’s contribution to the GDP was still at 0.4 percent even though it could achieve no less than 10 percent annually if well developed. The low level has been largely due to low awareness, poor purchasing power of Nigerians, poor market drive and unexciting products from insurers as well as lack of government patronage of insurance. At the National Insurance Summit held in Abuja, in December 2014 the government announced that it has set a target of N1 trillion in the next three years, and N5 trillion gross written premiums for the insurance sector within the next 10 years.

Jaiz Bank Plc has introduced some specific small and medium enterprise (SME) products to empower small-scale businesses and teeming customers in the grassroots. Unveiling its corporate products and services at the on-going 35th Kano International Trade Fair at the weekend, Jaiz Branch Manager, Mallam Mansur Imam pointed out that besides its conventional products like savings account (Mudaraba), lease and acquisition finance (Ijara-Wa-Iqtina) and corporate and trade financing (Murabaha), the SME was uniquely conceived to finance market driven products and encourage growth of local enterprise.

Muslims in Nigeria have canvassed a good government policy that would promote affordable housing for the citizenry.ome group of Muslim businessmen and other professionals who gathered at the 2014 National Conference organised by The Companion, in Ibadan recently, advised Muslim organizations to join hands in tackling their peculiar challenges and assist members to secure affordable shelters. The gathering resolved that Nigeria’s massive housing deficit may further degenerate until governments and real estate private developers turn their focus to mass housing as a sector priority rather than the present proliferation of luxury estates.

Nigeria’s aim to be a hub for Islamic finance is failing to materialise as a shortage of skilled and knowledgeable operators and lack of products combine to slow the sector’s take-off. There are very few professionals, such as lawyers and accountants who are conversant with Islamic Finance. Moreover, liquidity management in the country's industry is also a big problem, due to a lack of products. In 2013, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) established a Non-Interest Capital Market 10-year Masterplan Committee, to develop strategies to foster the Sharia compliant sector. Although there has been some progress, activities in the sector are way below potential.

No doubt, the CBN guidelines on non-interest finance have been long awaited due to the fast growing scale and demand for Islamic banking globally. However, there is a need for a more codified regulatory framework and guidelines by the Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at promoting future sukuk issuance and protecting investors’ interest. The regulatory framework should also provide for increased but regulated licensing requirements for Islamic fund managers, provisions for corporate governance, enhanced operational standards, enterprise-wide risk management, accounting, audit and disclosure requirements, advisory council of experts requirement, rendition of periodical regulatory return on Shariah compliance and prudential guidelines relating to fund reserve, liquidity ratio and provision for asset losses.