NICA Asks Credit Management Professionals to be Transparent and Ethical in Appraisal
- Credit management professionals across Nigeria have been asked to employ transparency and professionalism in credit appraisals
- The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Credit Administration (NICA), Chris Onalo, disclosed this recently
- He said credit assessment, appraisal or evaluation must put into consideration the business growth or business downtown experience
PAY ATTENTION: The 2024 Business Leaders Awards Present Entrepreneurs that Change Nigeria for the Better. Check out their Stories!
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA) has urged credit management professionals across industries in Nigeria to observe ethics and transparency in handling customer credit appraisal processes.
NICA, Nigeria’s supervisory and credit regulator, made the call recently.
Source: Original
NICA CEO advocates transparency
According to NICA’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Onalo, these attributes are necessary for a sound credit system.
Onalo said:
“When we talk about being ethical, transparent and carrying out their duty of care to make sure that credit appraisal processes are transparent, we are looking to keep credit professionals on their toes by being very professional, ethical, and transparent.
“This is against the backdrop of credit possibly going wrong due to unethical conduct, some of which may not be economically motivated but could be factors that can be prevented.
“When a credit professional is appraising a customer for either credit line, credit review, or credit limit upgrade, the customer must be thoroughly assessed based on the knowledge of the customer and the industry that the credit professional has had.”
Per Onalo, credit assessment, appraisal, or evaluation must consider the business growth or downtown experience that the credit professional may have observed with the customer over time.
He stated that this is important so that what the credit professional sees at the end of the day, or at any time, is how the credit customers’ business can continuously be positioned and repositioned for growth, expansion and sustainable contribution to the economy.
Suppose a credit professional fails to commit to the ethical and transparent credit appraisal process. In that case, the credit transaction in question may go bad, and such a credit professional might be in a dilemma of turning that account around, which means terrible debt would occur. This means that the end testifies to the beginning, Onalo stated.
NICA holds credit professionals to account
NICA is holding credit professionals to that commitment. To this end, when credit appraisal is carried out, he said appropriate credit and business information must be gathered to build mitigation bridges against defaults.
To enable credit managers and their teams to do their job of appraising, controlling, managing, monitoring and recovering, it is essential to state that the organizations and individuals who use credit to expand, grow, sustain or start up a business or buy on credit today and pay tomorrow, must endeavour to live up to their obligations. They should not abuse credit or see it as a means to defraud the economy.
In credit management, Onalo noted that the bigger the information you have on the credit customer, the more likelihood you have of the success of that account, except other things happen which are beyond the control of the credit customer, the credit provider organization, or the credit professional.
Speaking on more qualities of credit professionals, the professor of credit management said they must be well grounded in the art and science of credit administration/management and be members of relevant, credible professional bodies such as the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA).
“He or she must ensure regular participation in capacity development by constantly attending training and retraining programmes relating to credit management,” the NICA boss said.
NICA asks for business-friendly loans for SMEs
Legit.ng reported that the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA) has stated that the availability of loans with low interest rates and easy repayment conditions will enhance the profitability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
According to a statement signed by NICA’s chief executive officer, Chris Onalo, the institute said a business-friendly loan will encourage new and existing business owners to borrow to start new businesses and grow existing ones.
PAY ATTENTION: Unlock the best of Legit.ng on Pinterest! Subscribe now and get your daily inspiration!
Source: Legit.ng
