NDIC gets full membership of IFSB

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has been granted full membership to the board of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by its council.

The deposit insurer joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as another national institution on the board, in an approval conveyed to the corporation through mail and subsequently posted on the website of the IFSB.

The decision to admit the NDIC was taken at the 33rd meeting of the IFSB Council, hosted by the Islamic Development Bank Group (ISDB), on December 6, 2018, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The council meeting was chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait and Chairman of the IFSB for 2018, Dr. Mohammad Y. Al Hashel and attended by the President of the ISDB, Dr. Bandar Mohammed Hajjar, 12 central bank Governors and Commissioners of regulatory and supervisory authorities, and 10 senior representatives from among the Council and Full members of the IFSB, representing 19 countries.

IFSB is an International Standard-setting organisation for the Islamic Financial Services Industry that promotes the soundness and stability of the global industry, by issuing global prudential standards and guiding principles for Islamic Banking, Islamic Capital Markets and Takaful (Insurance) Sectors.

According to IFSB, members of the institution are classified into three categories- Full Member, Associate Member and those classified as observers.

As a full member of the board, NDIC has voting rights– a status, which is only available to the financial sector supervisory authorities of its member countries.

The work of the IFSB complements that of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) and International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), by introducing new, or adapting existing international prudential standards consistent with Islamic Shari’ah principles and recommending same for adoption by the relevant Regulatory Authorities.