Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor and Bitcoin critic Godwin Emefiele recently said that the rise of fintech and cryptocurrencies among other technologies has forced banks and financial institutions to change the way they operate. He said that they will be forced to change; according to Emefiele, this will require the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to rethink how it regulates the financial system.
rethink the regulation of the financial system
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has reportedly said that the MPC, which meets on July 18 and 19, must chart a new course to change the direction of Nigeria’s monetary policy.
At the so-called MPC Retreat, Emefiele said that new technologies and innovations play an important role in Nigeria’s development and therefore, future decisions of the MPC must seek to enhance the contribution of these technologies.
Furthermore, in hisremarkspublished in the Daily Nigerian, Emefiele, a Bitcoin critic, argued that fintech and crypto have changed the functioning of the financial system and this calls for a rethink. He said.
The evolution of fintech, cryptocurrencies, digital payments, artificial intelligence, and machine learning has changed the functioning of the financial and banking sector, both globally and domestically. Hence, there is an urgent need to rethink the regulation and supervision of the financial system and the implementation of monetary policy.
While new technologies and innovations are often associated with risks and uncertainties, Emefiele argued that they are also accompanied by several benefits, including improved access to financial services, poverty reduction, and job creation.
remain relevant in a changing world
Meanwhile, the Daily Nigerian report also quoted the CBN governor urging MPC members to familiarize themselves with the monetary policy tools and objectives related to the digitalized world.
“To ensure the relevance of monetary policy and the role of monetary authorities in the new digital world, MPC members must embrace themselves with an advanced level of understanding of the interaction of digitization with monetary policy objectives, goals and tools,” Emefiele reportedly said.
Regarding the MPC Retreat, Emefiele said that this is an important event because it gives central banks the opportunity to assess their performance over the past three to four years.
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