AF DAS MOSS' MEETINGS WITH NIGERIAN CENTRAL BANK AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000372 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EB/IFD/OIA DEPARTMENT PASS TO USTR (AGAMA) E.O. 12958 TAGS: EFIN ECON ETRD PGOV KCRIM KJUS NI SUBJECT: AF DAS MOSS' MEETINGS WITH NIGERIAN CENTRAL BANK AND FINANCE OFFICIALS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told AF DAS Todd Moss and the Ambassador that the CBN will soon issue a policy on foreign banks merging with or acquiring Nigerian banks. The upcoming policy is not/not aimed at restricting other entry or operations by foreign banks. Both the CBN and the Finance Ministry are working to further economic and financial reforms. The Finance Ministry is professionalizing public service while the CBN is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to increase financial sector reporting on Suspicious Transaction Reports and would welcome USG advice in that effort. The Minister of State for Finance told AF DAS Moss that the Ministry and the Debt Management Office (DMO) are developing a framework to guide states in debt management. Soon, each state will have a DMO office. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) AF DAS Todd Moss and the Ambassador met with Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Tunde Lemo and Minister of State for Finance Aderemi Babalola in separate meetings on January ¶23. Topics discussed included the banking sector, the budget, federal and state-level spending, the EFCC, and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). -------------- Banking Sector -------------- ¶3. (SBU) CBN Deputy Governor Lemo commented that the ongoing banking consolidation program was a success, reducing the number of banks from 89 to 24. Bank assets had grown from N206 billion to N1.6 trillion (from 1.75 billion to 13.4 billion dollars) and banks now account for 10 of the 12 most capitalized companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Deputy Governor Lemo declared that there is no risk of over-capitalization in Nigeria. Banks fund domestic and international commerce, small and medium enterprises, and manufacturing. Not all banks have the capacity and skill to invest in the oil sector. -------------- Foreign Banks -------------- ¶4. (SBU) AF DAS Toss Moss inquired about restrictions on foreign banks in the Nigerian banking system. Lemo stated that three foreign banks are presently operating in Nigeria, and more are eager to invest in the banking sector. Lemo said that the GON regards banks as development partners, but past experience shows that foreign banks are reluctant to open branches outside of major cities, where most people live. The CBN intends to limit mergers and acquisitions involving foreign banks. The upcoming policy is not/not aimed at restricting other entry or operation by foreign banks. He said that foreign banks can freely establish their own operations in Nigeria if they meet the minimum capital requirement of 25 billion Naira. (Note: We expect that the Ambassador and Governor Soludo will discuss the mergers and acquisitions issue this week. End note.) -------------- Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Lemo stated that the CBN works with other federal agencies, including the Financial Intelligence Unit of the EFCC, in dealing with money laundering issues. Commercial banks need to be properly trained to report STRs. He expressed that both CBN and banks are interested in further developing training on STRs and would welcome USG advice on expanding such training. -------------- Debt Management -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In his discussion with DAS Moss and the Ambassador, Babalola said that the Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO) are in process of developing a framework to guide states in debt management and that each state will soon have a DMO. Reckless spending in the past demanded the development of the fiscal responsibility act. However, the new fiscal responsibility act is only on the federal level, but the federal government is encouraging the states to adopt it. Thirteen state legislatures have adopted fiscal responsibility legislation. Babalola said the rest of the states would follow suit "within two months." ABUJA 00000372 002 OF 003 -------------- Finance Ministry Reforms -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Babalola told DAS Moss and the Ambassador that institutional reforms were focused on professionalizing public service. Previous reforms had relied too much on consultants and when they left, there was no capacity to continue the reforms. The new plan was to have consultants work more closely with civil servants, while also encouraging people from the private sector to join the civil service and share their knowledge and experience with civil servants in order to create institutional capacity. Since 2006, reforms have slowed down. When President Yar'Adua assumed office, people expected the pace of reforms to pick up again, but this hasn't happened. However, Babalola said, once the budget has been passed by the National Assembly, the GON will roll out a series of new and deeper reforms but did not elaborate further. -------------- Budget -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Babalola said the government used International Monetary Fund guidelines to create the 2008 budget, some for the first time. Under the new system there is a focus on rule of law and a commitment to implementing what comes out of the budget process. For the first time, money allocated for a specific fiscal year must be spent or committed during that fiscal year, which should reduce the deficit and abuse of public funds. The money not spent or committed must be returned to the Treasury. The GON wants to have a private-sector-led economy and wants public-private partnerships to play a larger role in the economy. ¶9. (SBU) In response to DAS Moss' inquiry whether Nigeria would combine higher spending with a reduction in import tariffs to reduce inflation, Babalola acknowledged that a lot of money was being pushed out into the economy. Higher oil prices are expected to result in higher revenues for the GON despite production disruptions in the Niger Delta. This is expected to lead to increased money supply which could be inflationary. However, the CBN had devised a strategy of sharing revenues to the states in dollars to reduce inflation from an excess supply of naira. (Note: Press reports during the second week of February stated that the Government had halted this practice for some allocations. End note). -------------- Excess Crude Account (ECA) -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Babalola stated that funds presently in the ECA would stay there. (Note: Apparently a reference to the GON's commitment to maintain USD eight billion in the ECA. End note). The accretion would be shared with the states, but the government was considering imposing conditions on the release of the money; for example, requiring 70 percent of the money released to the governors to be used to purchase capital imports to support high-value infrastructure projects. Babalola said if the National Assembly raised the benchmark price by more than five or six dollars per barrel there could be problems, implying that such an adjustment by the Assembly would not be fiscally prudent. -------------- State Spending -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The Ministry of Finance is also looking at ways to improve fiscal accountability at the state level. According to Babalola, in the past, states would obtain an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) from the federal government for purchases, as a guarantee in order to borrow money from private markets. In the past, one Governor obtained ISPO to purchase planes for his state, but ended up employing them for his private use. As the example shows, this practice was open to waste and abuse. -------------- - Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) -------------- - ¶12. (SBU) Discussion between DAS Moss and Babalola turned to recent developments at the EFCC and its future. Babalola emphasized that the goal was to institutionalize reform. The GON wants reforms to outlive Ribadu, giving future chairmen a chance to prove that EFCC will continue the course of its work even without Ribadu. The Ambassador told Babalola that the decision to reassign Ribadu was problematic, following as it did on the heels of former Delta State ABUJA 00000372 003 OF 003 Governor Ibori's arrest by the EFCC on corruption charges. She said that while the U.S. understands that institutions are greater than individuals and that it was a presidential prerogative to send Ribadu for a year long senior management course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, the way the decision was made increased doubts on the GON's commitment to the EFCC's anti-corruption efforts. Babalola argued that if the new (acting) chairman carried on the work of the EFCC, such doubts would be assuaged. -------------- Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) -------------- ¶13. (SBU) DAS Moss and the Ambassador asked about government leverage over the NDDC. Babalola emphasized that it was tough to monitor budgetary allocations paid to the NDDC. The government was trying to see what projects it should give money to rather than increasing the amount of money NDDC receives. Statutorily, the NDDC must receive money from the federal government, but there was nothing in the constitution or law about monitoring the activities of the NDDC. Babalola said that it could actually be illegal for the government to bring in an external auditor to conduct an audit of the NDDC. (Note: Due to the statutory authority of the NDDC, only the National Assembly has the power to order an audit. End note). ¶14. (U) AF DAS Moss cleared this message. SANDERS 6