Nigerian Senate passes bill placing major fintechs under central bank oversight
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Leadership
The Nigerian Senate has passed, at third reading, a bill allowing the Central Bank of Nigeria to regulate major fintech companies. The text, which amends the 2020 BOFIA law, would allow these players to be designated as systemically important institutions subject to enhanced supervision, according to Leadership.
The Nigerian Senate passed on Tuesday, at third reading, bill SB. 959, which gives the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the power to designate major fintechs and other non-bank financial institutions as "systemically important institutions", according to the outlet Leadership. This status would subject them to enhanced regulatory supervision.
The text amends the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 (BOFIA). The designation criteria are size, transaction volume, customer base and degree of interconnection with the rest of the financial system. The bill provides for an official register of designated institutions, enhanced requirements on governance, cybersecurity, technology risk management and operational resilience, as well as stress tests and data integrity checks.
Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East), chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, presented the committee’s report during a plenary session presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The text also strengthens transparency on beneficial owners and provides for sanctions against institutions that breach regulatory obligations. According to Leadership, it targets emerging vulnerabilities in the sector, linked to the growing influence of large technology-based financial service providers.
