BY NKECHI NAECHE—ESEZOBOR—In a bid to strengthen banking sector surveillance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has established a new compliance department.
This is contained in a circular to regulated financial institutions on Thursday, the apex bank said the department was created in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 and became operational in the second quarter (Q2)
“This structural reform forms part of the Bank’s broader efforts to consolidate and embed regulatory effectiveness within existing supervisory frameworks, clarify institutional responsibilities, and maintain focused oversight of non-prudential and emerging risks.”
The department will be in charge of four key areas.
“Financial crime supervision, covering anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), counter-proliferation financing (CPF), and sanctions compliance,” CBN said.
“Market conduct supervision, including disclosure practices, complaints management, and advertising standards”.
“Enterprise security supervision covering cybersecurity, data protection, and third-party risk management; and corporate governance and ESG supervision focusing on board effectiveness and oversight of environmental, social and governance (ESG) oversight.”
The financial regulator further said all regulatory reports, correspondence, and related inquiries concerning the matters should be directed to the director of, compliance department, through the established communication channels.
The apex bank added that institutions will receive direct guidance on specific points of contact and submission procedures.
The CBN looks forward to continued cooperation from all institutions in ensuring a smooth transition and in upholding the highest standards of compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
