Nigerian banks face pay disclosure measures

28 February 2010

Banks in Nigeria will be required to disclose the remuneration packages of top executives as part of new regulations for the finance sector.

The 2010/11 Monetary and Trade Policy from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) states that financial institutions must also make public their risk management strategies and any regulatory sanctions or penalties.

CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusai told the Vanguard newspaper that the new measures were developed "to enhance transparency in the Nigerian banking system and in light of contemporary experiences in the global and Nigerian financial systems".

According to the policy document, pay disclosure will form part of a system designed to prevent "systemic distress and crises" in the Nigerian banking sector.

The regulations suggest that the compensation of managing directors and executive directors will now be included in banks' reports.

New disclosure measures were also recently introduced in Japan, where all firms will have to give details of executive remuneration packages that exceed 100 million yen (£740,000) a year.