Home | About Us | Contact Us | Sitemap | Educational | Freedom of Information    

Nigeria Financial Services Shared IT Infrastructure & IT Standards Programme

Home | Background | Objectives and Purpose of Document | Definition of Standard | Abbreviations | Contact Us

IT Standards Governance and Interaction Model

The purpose of the IT Standards Governance Model is to establish a framework which will facilitate the adoption of IT standards as well as management of the standards lifecycle within the Nigerian Banking Industry.

Guiding Principles and Policies

The following guiding policies have been defined for the administration of IT standards in the Nigerian Financial Services Industry:

    1. Standards must be internationally acknowledged standards or a local variant
    2. All Financial Services organizations and external IT service providers / operators shall be required to comply with IT standards
    3. Governance Council to oversee IT standards adoption, implementation and management within the industry
    4. Governance Council reports periodically to the Bankers’ Committee on status and compliance  with approved standards
    5. Membership of the IT Standards Governance Council includes nominees of Deposit Money Banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria
    6. Independent assessment of Banks’ internal processes and test controls will be the basis of determining compliance
    7. Periodic audits will be carried out annually on Banks’ processes and controls to ensure compliance.

IT Standards Governance Model and Processes

In order to embed the adopted IT Standards within the Nigerian Financial Services industry, it is expedient to develop a binding framework of processes and procedures that will guide the introduction of new standards, review or modification of existing ones, and complete withdrawal of obsolete or irrelevant standards, thereby maintaining relevance and ensuring continuity by both CBN and other stakeholders. Establishing and documenting pre-defined roles and responsibility matrices extend the clarity of governance model organization charts by providing more precision in the allocation of decisions to and by authorized personnel This section details the governance model and processes for the Financial Services Industry and IT Standards Council. The IT Standards Governance Council will be supported by (2) working committees namely:

  • Compliance Management Committee
  • Standards Review Committee

The IT Standards Governance Council is depicted in the picture below:


Figure 1 - IT Standards Governance Structure

 

Roles and Responsibilities

Designation

Roles and Responsibilities

IT Standards Governance Council
  1. Promote Industry IT Standards.
  2. Set strategic direction with respect to Standards within the Industry.
  3. Determine the IT Standards to be implemented across the Industry including maturity levels
  4. Review and update of Industry IT Standards
  5. Communicate changes required for compliance to banks when there is a refresh on an already existing standard

Compliance Management Committee
  1. Notify banks of planned audit assessment / communicate audit schedules
  2. Engage qualified auditors to carry out compliance audits
  3. Conduct the audit and assess controls, systems and processes
  4. Set and agree frequency of audits with industry stakeholders
  5. Report defaulters to the Council for appropriate decisions

Standards Review Committee
  1. Maturity assessment of the banking Industry to determine current status/rating of banks with respect to defined IT industry standards.
  2. Review global trends in IT standards within the FS industry and identify gaps with local industry
  3. Recommend updates, changes to IT standards to the Council

 

Useful links

  1. Overview and Summary IT Standards for the Nigerian Financial Services Industry
  2. Target Maturity Levels
  3. Expected Impacts and Benefits
  4. Re-prioritised Industry IT standards
  5. IT Standards Adoption Roadmap
  6. IT Standards Governance and Interaction Model
  7. CBN IT Standards Council ToR
  8. IT Standards Blueprint for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs)
  9. IT_Standards_Blueprint for Payment Solution Providers (PSPs) and the National Microfinance Banks (NMFBs)


See Frequently Asked Questions on the IT Standards Blueprint

Facts : 7/1/1959
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:The Management of the CBN is placed under a Board of Directors which is responsible for the Policy and General administration of the Affairs and Business of the Bank.Under the original statute,the Board was composed of the Governor as Chairman,a Deputy Governor and Five other Directors all of whom were appointed by the Federal Government.
See All: Facts | Events