Custodian and Allied Insurance (CAI) Plc has expressed plans to acquire banks as obtained in the developed economies where insurance firms own banks.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director of CAI, Mr Wole Oshin at the listing of the company’s stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to him, in other countries, insurance companies own banks and this abnormality in Nigeria is about to be changed.

"This is the only country that things are the other way round. Insurance companies own banks in other countries except in Nigeria that is not so," he said.
However, he said the Nigerian insurance industry is poised for exponential growth. "Insurance Industry assets are currently less than 5 per cent of banking industry assets. Typically this is the reverse, indicating the huge growth potential in the Nigerian insurance sector," he noted.

He said that growth in the sector will be driven by the growing economy and more specifically, policy directives by the Federal Government.
He said that any company with more than 5 employees is expected to take up life and retirement insurance by law.

He noted that things are about to change now; with the local content affecting the insurance companies, they have been asked by law to retain 40 per cent.
He said that the company can only develop to meet up because presently, they do not have the capacity to retain 40 per cent locally.

He said that the company has growth potential of $500 million annually in life insurance through local content law.
Retail insurance, according to him, is not really tapped while his company is strong in maritime and vessel, and in the area of cargo.

"We are not shying away from further mergers. What we focus on is to achieve the top three. We are ready to utilize all strategies to achieve that," he said.
On the performance of the company, Dipo Aina, President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers said that the statistics speaks for itself. Being number 204 on the Exchange, he said that it’s a big challenge for the company to be listed.