Yemisi Izuora
Fidelity Bank Plc has been awarded the ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) certified by the British Standard institute (BSI).
The process, which had been adopted by the bank since August 2017, was applauded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the bank had complied 13 months to the initial deadline.
Speaking at the certificate presentation at Fidelity Bank’s head office in Lagos, the MD/CEO Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo said the certification would enhance the safety and protection of the bank’s assets and customers’ investments, as well as the financial institution’s ability to effectively respond to incidents or disruptions and continue operations at acceptable pre-defined levels.
He added: “Most disruptions to smooth business operations are caused by infrastructure outages or human error. “They can also be the result of random power outages, natural disasters or international events.
“Clearly, any of these disruptions can be costly and undermine an organisation’s ability to deliver best-in-breed customer service.
“More importantly, unplanned outages can also create far-reaching consequences that impact long-term revenue stream, brand and ultimately, an organisation’s survival.
“It is against this backdrop that Fidelity Bank decided to take concrete steps to improve its resilience capabilities.”
Continuing, the Fidelity Bank boss said: “After months of rigorous Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and risk assessment across all the departments of the bank, our bank was awarded the prestigious ISO 22301 certificate by the BSI.
“Implementing the ISO 22301 (Business Continuity Management System) is a critical step towards achieving our corporate strategy and enhancing stakeholders’ confidence in the Fidelity brand.
“BCMS demonstrates that Fidelity bank is committed to protecting its staff and ensuring the continuity of critical business functions, mitigate risk, and sustain customer confidence in the event of a disruption.”
On the part of the regulator, the Director, Banking and Payment Systems Department CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun applauded the bank timeliness in responding to CBN’s directive.
He said: “For the bank to have implement this successfully and certified by BSI is a great achievement. Fidelity bank is know for being consistently committed to rendering quality services to their clients.
“In this day where hazards that are natural have become numerous, being certified for the business continuity management system is a great achievement and evidence of the bank’s commitment and readiness to sustain service delivery by overcoming any unforeseen disruption.”
Represented by his assistant director, Mr. Y M Bature, Fatokun further added: “We encourage other players in the industry to emulate this great example made by fidelity bank.”
Also, the Head, Trade and Investment UK Deputy High Commission, Mr. Ben Ainsley, said that “this regulatory systems is something the UK government wholeheartedly believes in and that the UK government is looking to improve its business with Nigeria in terms technology support and enhance trade.”