the participating banks shall contribute an amount equivalent to 0. 3 per cent of its total assets annually into a sinking fund as at the date of their audited financial statement for the immediate preceding financial year. therefore, the cost of the resolution to the nigerian taxpayer is significantly minimized. to further engender public confidence in the banking system and enhance customer protection, the cbn established the consumer and financial protection division to provide a platform through which consumers can seek redress. in the first three months of its operation, the division received over 600 consumer complaints, which was a manifestation of the absence of an effective consumer complaints resolution mechanism in the banks. the cbn has also issued a directive to banks to establish customer help desks at their head offices and branches. in addition, the cbn has commenced a comprehensive review of the guide to bank charges with a view to making the charges realistic and consumer friendly. the cbn has taken steps to integrate the banking system into global best practice in financial reporting and disclosure through the adoption of the international financial reporting standards ( ifrs ) in the nigerian banking sector by end - 2010. this should help to enhance market discipline, and reduce uncertainties, which limit the risk of unwarranted contagion. the universal banking ( ub ) model adopted in 2001, allowed banks to diversify into non - bank financial businesses. following the consolidation programme, banks became awash with capital. some operators abused the laudable objectives of the ub model with banks operating as private equity and venture capital funds to the detriment of core banking practices. to address the observed challenges, the cbn reviewed the ub model with a view to directing banks to focus on their core banking business only. under the new model, licensed banks will be authorized to carry the following types of business : commercial banking ( with either regional, national and international authorization ) ; merchant ( investment ) banking ; specialized banking ( microfinance, mortgage, non - interest banking ( regional and national ) ; and development finance institutions. the introduction of the non - interest banking in nigeria is expected to herald the entry of new markets and institutional players thus deepening the nation ’ s financial markets and further the quest for financial inclusion. in fact, the first fully licensed non - interest bank in the country ( jaiz bank plc. ) started business on friday, january 6, 2012. similarly, the importance of microfinance in a growing economy cannot be over - emphasized, given its potential in addressing the challenges of excluding

was potentially unstable. it was clear that the market needed to develop alternatives in case the worst happened, and this was the reason that we convened the arrc four years ago. we asked the arrc to identify a robust alternative to u. s. dollar libor and to develop a plan to promote its use. sandie o ’ connor will speak shortly about the arrc ’ s work, but i want to emphasize that this has been a model of cooperative effort between the private sector and the public sector. when the arrc started, the interest rate benchmarks that they would eventually narrow their choice down to did not even exist. those rates have not been easy to create, and as the arrc expressed interest in a treasury repo rate benchmark that would span the widest possible scope of the market, the federal reserve bank of new york put great effort in working with the federal reserve board and office of financial research to create sofr. the result, the rate the arrc has chosen, reflects the largest and deepest rates market in the world and is a huge accomplishment for all of us. that accomplishment is only the start of what will be many. as i noted, just three months after sofr has begun production, we have already seen the introduction of futures markets on the chicago mercantile exchange. lch has now begun to offer clearing of sofr overnight index and basis swaps, and cme group will begin to do so within a few months. these are steps that the private sector must lead, and they have, but it is important that the public sector encourage the development of sofr markets where it can. the arrc has issued a first letter to u. s. regulators asking us to consider exemptions for legacy swaps seeking to incorporate the international swaps and derivatives association ’ s protocol or exemptions for amending to move from libor to sofr, and these are issues that we should look at seriously ; we should avoid placing unintended hurdles in the way of those who may seek to transition from libor. here is something you don ’ t hear often in the context of any large, complex undertaking involving input from a large number of stakeholders : the effort to implement sofr is ahead of schedule. the arrc has recognized that we have to make transitioning to sofr as easy as it can be. that is the reason that it has added the creation of a forward - looking term rate as the final step in its paced transition plan. as