( a token - based cbdc would imply a better protection of privacy ) 22 or the organization of the central bank. in particular, managing an account - based system with millions of account balances, each potentially changing every day, would require an incredible effort by the central bank. the implementation of a token - based system, instead, would be easier and could be delegated to a private party. in both cases the security and resilience of the cbdc to cyber - attacks must be assured, in order to preserve trust in the currency. digital hacking of the currency can reap very large rewards, in all likelihood larger than counterfeiting banknotes – the recent attack on the central bank of bangladesh comes to mind. 23 undoubtedly hackers everywhere are dreaming about how to violate the digital currency system! the number of questions related to cbdcs is enormous and the public debate about them is only in its infancy. i cannot address all the issues today. but i do wish to emphasize one last point before concluding my remarks. if central banks decided to make an asset – the cbdc – free of credit and liquidity risk, possibly remunerated, and available to anybody at no cost, their role in the economy would fundamentally change. the size of their balance sheets would likely increase, and with it their footprint in the economy. if the cbdc were account - based, central banks would start to interact directly with the private non - financial sector. are central banks ready to play this new role and to deal with the attendant complexities? in the short term my answer is no. beyond the short term, greater investment in new technologies and human capital would be necessary to address the challenges associated with issuing a cbdc. see for example mersch, y. “ digital base money : an assessment from the ecb ’ s perspective ”, speech at suomen pankki, january 2017. for instance, a malware installed on the bangladesh central bank ’ s computer successfully diverted around $ 80 million from its accounts. 5. conclusions the technological revolution is pushing us towards a digital representation of many objects in our daily lives. banknotes might be next in line. however, there are still many uncertainties on that front. some of them are economic in nature, such as the efficiency of the payment system and financial stability. others are related to individual rights, such as the right to privacy. society as a whole would do well to decide on how to tackle the latter before the central

charles c soludo : the safety and soundness of the nigerian banking system press statement by professor charles c soludo, governor of the central bank of nigeria, on the safety and soundness of the banking system, abuja, 12 june 2007. * * * this briefing is to clarify some pertinent issues regarding the state of springbank, and to reassure the nigerian public that the banking system is the safest and soundest it has ever been in its history, and that the cbn and ndic will take all necessary measures to protect all depositors of the banking system. i : banking sector consolidation : progress so far as you are all aware, the banking sector consolidation programme was necessitated by the pervasive weaknesses and uncertainty of the banking system, and the need to re - engineer and fast - track a system that will engender confidence and power a new economy. so far, the grand objectives of that policy are being achieved, and our consolidation programme has been adjudged about the most successful in the world. the world is celebrating nigeria ’ s success, and over $ 1 billion of foreign investment has gone into the sector within the last 12 months, and several hundred millions of dollars are still pouring in. the non - performing loans as percentage of total loans have gone down from about 23 % before consolidation to less than 8 % currently ; total deposits have almost doubled, and credit to the private sector growing astronomically ( annualized at 72 % within the first four months in 2007 ). today, individual banks can finance big projects valued at hundreds of millions of dollars and also operate in the oil and gas sector – a feat they never could do before now. interest rates are gradually coming down. as at today, there are over 3, 866 branches of commercial banks, up from 3, 200 prior to consolidation and the total employment in the sector far higher than prior to consolidation. by end 2007, there will be about 7 or more banks with shareholders fund in excess of $ 1 billion, and over 10 banks with market capitalization of over $ 2 billion each ( there was none in 2004 ). today, nigeria has the fastest growing banking system in africa, and one of the fastest in the world. as seasoned commentators have observed, it has taken nigeria less than three years to achieve what it took south africa 20 years to achieve in the area of banking. to put it succinctly, a new banking system has emerged, and will only get stronger