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Mr. Tunde Lemo, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is scheduled to retire from the apex bank on January 15 after a decade of service, according to reports by Leadership Newspaper. Lemo was appointed deputy governor on January 1, 2004 and is reputed to be the longest serving member on the board till date. Lemo distinguished himself as the managing director/chief executive officer of Wema Bank Plc between 2000 and 2003 prior to his appointment at the CBN. It was during his three year tenure as the helmsman of the bank that saw the organisation rank in the top ten most profitable commercial money-deposit banks in the country in 2003. Lemo is a member of several prestigious associations in the financial industry. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) as well as a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB). Widespread policy changes in Nigeria’s banking industry were introduced during his tenure as the deputy governor in charge of operations, such as the initiative aimed at achieving efficient banking services with 30 percent cost savings for the industry. Others include introduction and deepening of electronic banking services and enhancement of financial security to protect money depositors as well as commercial banks. Also, he witnessed the forumulation and implementation of the microfinance policy which was introduced to engender growth for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) nationwide. Additionally, Lemo led the restructuring of the Abuja Security and Commodities Exchange and Nigeria Export Import (NEXIM) Bank as chairman of both institutions.