Mohammed Shosanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria has postponed the Monetary Policy Committee’s 293rd meeting, which was billed to hold between September 25 and 26, 2023.
The bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Dr Isa AbdulMumin,confirmed the shift in a statement on Thursday.
It read: “The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria has deferred its 293rd meeting scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, September 25 and 26, 2023, respectively.
“A new date will be communicated in due course. We regret any inconvenience this change may cause our stakeholders and the general public.”
Meanwhile,the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),has unveiled a digital platform for the submission of Microfinance Bank (MFB) licence applications.
The apex bank disclosed this in a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is pleased to announce the unveiling of a new online platform for submission of microfinance bank (MFB) licence applications,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the new online platform is called the “CBN Licensing, Approval and Other Requests Portal (CBN LARP)” and it will eventually replace the current manual process wherein prospective applicants for MFB licence physically submit their applications to the CBN.
It said, the bank will extend the platform to other categories of licences.
The bank noted that the online application system offers numerous benefits, including a simplified process, time savings, enhanced communication, and robust security measures.
The CBN said the aim of the digitization is to improve accessibility, reduce paperwork, and expedite licence approvals, benefiting both applicants and the economy.
It added that,with effect from 25 September, MFB licence applicants are required to submit both hardcopy and online applications (via the CBN LARP) as part of a parallel run.
The statement said the cover letter submitting the hardcopy application must have a valid application reference number from the online submission for the application to be accepted.
According to the statement, the parallel run will end on 31 December and the manual submissions of hardcopy MFB licence applications will no longer be required and accepted.
“From September 25, 2023, prospective MFB applicants are urged to log on to www.larp.cbn.gov.ng to submit their respective MFB licence applications,” the CBN said.
It said help and detailed guidance are available within “CBN LARP” to assist users in navigating the new platform and that a user guide can also be downloaded from the platform.
“Applicants may contact the dedicated helpdesk via email at cbnlarp-helpdesk@cbn.gov.ng for further information. Meanwhile, please note that the Bank shall continue to accept manual applications for all other licence types until further notice,” the statement added.
