>The Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC) has launched the 2025 edition of its Continuous Education Programme (CEP), a cutting-edge governance intervention designed to equip boards and executive management of microfinance banks with the expertise to navigate complex credit risk.
FITC brought together 43 senior decision-makers from 16 Microfinance Banks to discuss the pressing issues facing the sector, including borrower defaults, inflationary pressures, and technology-enabled lending. The programme, held from July 2-3, 2025, at Citi Height Luxury Hotel, Lagos, aimed to strengthen board oversight and management roles in advanced credit risk management and strategic loan restructuring.
Dr. Chizor Malize, FITC’s Managing Director/CEO, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to developing Nigeria’s financial services sector and encouraged participants to leverage FITC’s research, advisory, and capacity-building offerings.
The programme featured contributions from industry experts, including Mr. Eddy Orok, Executive Secretary of NAMB, and Mr. Olugbenga Jayeola, Deputy Director and Head of the Microfinance Banks Coordinating Division at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Jayeola emphasized the strategic value of the programme in addressing shifting credit profiles, governance expectations, and rising digital threats in the microfinance sector.
By hosting the 2025 CEP, FITC is empowering microfinance bank leaders to anticipate, mitigate, and strategically manage credit risk, ensuring the survival and competitive relevance of their institutions.
The CEP featured intensive technical sessions led by governance and credit risk experts, including Mr. Ozamah Mohammed Agbomeikhe, Mr. Ademola Aina, Mrs. Olufunmi Adepoju, CFA, and Mr. Elonna Ezulu. The curriculum was structured to advance participants from risk awareness to governance maturity, focusing on:
- Advanced Credit Risk Diagnostics — integrating portfolio stress testing, loan classification, and early-warning indicators into board-level monitoring systems.
- Strategic Loan Restructuring — developing data-driven, board-sanctioned restructuring frameworks that balance borrower viability with institutional asset protection.
- Digital Credit Risk Oversight — equipping boards to govern fintech-driven lending, algorithmic credit scoring, and third-party platform risks, alongside cyber resilience.
- Inclusive Credit Governance — embedding financial inclusion objectives into lending strategies while maintaining rigorous risk controls.
The keynote address by Mr. Olugbenga Jayeola, Deputy Director and Head of the Microfinance Banks Coordinating Division at the CBN, underscored a regulatory expectation that boards must serve as active custodians of asset quality, credit discipline, and organizational risk culture. He noted that supervisory frameworks are increasingly holding boards — not just management — accountable for weaknesses in credit governance.
Deliberations highlighted several oversight imperatives:
- Strengthening board engagement in credit origination standards, portfolio diversification, and risk-adjusted pricing.
- Ensuring board involvement in loan restructuring approvals, recovery strategies, and capital adequacy monitoring.
- Embedding transparency and accountability frameworks that enhance depositor confidence and regulatory trust.
Given the current surge in non-performing loans, participants recognized that loan restructuring must transition from being a reactive operational measure to a proactive governance strategy. Boards were advised to institutionalize restructuring policies that include:
- Clear eligibility criteria aligned with regulatory and economic realities.
- Robust documentation protocols to ensure enforceability and legal defensibility.
- Post-restructuring performance tracking to prevent re-default and protect asset quality.
Such frameworks, it has agreed, not only preserve institutional value but also sustain credible client relationships in turbulent operating environments.
READ ALSO: LASAA reaffirms commitment to fairness, safety and industry growth
The programme also addressed the governance complexities of digital credit models, particularly in partnerships with fintechs while the discussions identify three priority areas for boards:
- Cybersecurity Governance — developing board-level literacy on threats such as phishing, ransomware, DDoS attacks, and identity theft.
- Third-Party Risk Management — instituting oversight protocols for contractual compliance, operational risk, and customer data security in fintech collaborations.
- RegTech and Predictive Analytics — deploying real-time dashboards and anomaly detection tools to strengthen credit portfolio monitoring and regulatory reporting.
Boards were urged to view digital oversight as a core governance competency, not a peripheral technology issue.
While the sector’s developmental mandate remains to extend credit access to underserved populations, the programme emphasised that financial inclusion must be governed with the same rigour applied to commercial lending. Boards were encouraged to:
- Leverage biometric verification and alternative data scoring for prudent lending decisions.
- Use data analytics to segment borrower risk and tailor credit products accordingly.
- Establish governance frameworks that prevent over-indebtedness and ensure ethical lending practices.
The 2025 CEP concluded with a set of board-focused recommendations:
- Define and Review Credit Risk Appetite Regularly — ensuring alignment with macroeconomic conditions and capital buffers.
- Implement Robust Early-Warning Systems — for timely risk identification and intervention.
- Formalize Loan Restructuring Policies — with governance oversight and monitoring mechanisms.
- Establish Remedial Credit Units — empowered with board-sanctioned authority to execute recovery strategies.
- Standardize Legal and Credit Documentation — ensuring enforceability and regulatory alignment.
- Govern Syndicated Lending Transparently — with clear inter-creditor and risk-sharing protocols.
- Strengthen Regulatory Compliance Ownership — through periodic board reviews of supervisory requirements.
- Promote Ethical and Informed Lending — embedding a governance culture that aligns profitability with responsibility.
- Integrate Technology into Board Oversight — to enhance decision-making agility and data-driven governance.
By hosting the 2025 Continuous Education Programme, FITC has reinforced its leadership as the go-to governance partner for Nigeria’s financial services sector. More than a training event, the CEP served as a high-level strategic forum — enabling directors and executives to benchmark governance practices, interrogate risk frameworks, and align boardroom oversight with the realities of today’s credit environment.
READ ALSO: FCCPC’s new rule on loan app interest rates unsettles Nigeria’s digital lenders
As the microfinance industry navigates an era defined by complexity and disruption, FITC remains committed to delivering world-class governance interventions, capacity-building programmes, and thought-leadership platforms that anticipate challenges, unlock opportunities, and strengthen the resilience of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
In the words of Dr. Malize, “In governance, foresight is as critical as oversight. Boards that combine both will not only survive the turbulence but will chart sustainable growth paths for their institutions and the sector at large.”
Established in 1981, FITC is a world-class, innovation-led knowledge institution providing cutting-edge learning, advisory, and research services to Nigeria’s financial services sector and beyond. With a mandate from the Central Bank of Nigeria, FITC serves as the capacity-building and thought-leadership partner for banks, regulators, and other financial institutions. Over four decades, FITC has consistently delivered high-impact programmes in governance, risk management, strategy, digital transformation, and leadership, equipping professionals and institutions to excel in dynamic and complex environment.
Discover more from The Industry
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
