The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, has said that the commission has been instituting enduring machinery for the smooth divestment of banks from their insurance subsidiaries.

Daniel, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent, said that the commission was protecting the interest of stakeholders in the insurance sector.

He said that the banking institutions owning insurance companies were actually divesting, and the commission was quite satisfied with the progress recorded in that area.

Daniel said, “A deadline was given for the divestment, and we expect that all banking institutions would have fully complied with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directives. But for our own as an industry, we are very interested in what happens to these entities; what sort of investors take over, we need to be sure.

“How do we protect all stakeholders, including investors, employees, and even, the insured? So, we have put in place an appropriate measure to ensure that no stakeholder is short-changed or put at a disadvantaged position as a result of the divestment.”

According to him, NAICOM has introduced a guideline for the divestment, with every foreign investor screened from wherever they were coming from.

“Any one bringing in capital is screened to be sure it is not money derived from criminal activity that was brought to do business here. The country as a whole has a mechanism for sifting potential investors in the country,” he added.

As the risk-bearing arm of the country, Daniel said the commission was committed to the industry’s development.

He said, “More of developmental driven regulations, more enforcement on the Market Development and Reconstructing Initiative and on market discipline. The market must be disciplined. Where we cannot have discipline, you cannot have progress. We are poised to move rapidly. The implication is that there is going to be more stringent market discipline.”

For this reason, he said, the commission would remain focused in achieving its set objectives.

Source: Punch/Nike Poopola