Nigeria's banking industry is experiencing a significant loss of younger employees due to a "talent drain," according to CIBN...

Nigeria's Banking Industry Suffers from Mass Exodus of Younger Workers, Impacting Succession Plans

Nigeria's banking industry is experiencing a significant loss of younger employees due to a "talent drain," according to the president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Ken Opara.

The figure is quite high, with many trained employees immediately leaving the country. Opara noted that the exodus of younger talent is affecting the pull of manpower, and hindering succession planning, lowering productivity and slowing down activity.

According to LEADERSHIP Newspaper, Nigeria's banks are experiencing a technology skills gap due to a brain drain that is consuming experienced tech personnel in the sector, hindering the Central Bank of Nigeria's cashless banking initiative. Findings have shown that most of the banks' IT departments are now manned by inexperienced staff who cannot cope with the traffic on internet banking platforms.

The IT backends of most banks are struggling to cope with the surge in the use of electronic and mobile banking platforms for transactions, which has led to the poor network, infrastructure deficit, and inexperienced tech staff.

The cashless policy was initiated in a bid to check terrorism financing, counterfeiting, and imbalances in the fiscal space. The policy aimed to move the country into a full-fledged cashless economy by January 31st, 2023. However, since the policy's implementation at the start of the year, Nigerians have struggled to access the new naira notes, leading to a surge in the use of internet banking systems for transactions.