E-Financial
Reps Seek Stiffer Punishment for Banks over Illegal Charges
House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency on Tuesday opted for stiffer penalties of millions of Naira as fine for commercial banks which engage in an illegal deduction of spurious charges on customers’ accounts domiciled in such banks.
The Committee took this position a 2-day public hearing it organised at the National Assembly on proposed amendments to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act BOFIA 2017 where the lawmakers and stakeholders in the banking sector brainstormed on the way forward for the sector.
Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House, who declared the hearing open noted that bank customers had not stopped complaining of spurious charges on their accounts.
Dogara who was represented by Chukwuka Onyema, House Deputy Minority Leader, assured that the 8th Assembly was ready to legislate on the laws that would restore sanity into our banking system in the country
Jones Onyereri, chairman of the House Committee, said that increase in penalties to the bank operators would streamline the operations of such banks to conform to international best practices.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Cooperation (NDIC) who made representations at the hearing said that the proposed amendments would help to eliminate sharp practices by commercial banks.
Mr Johnson Akinmwumi, CBN’s Director of Legal Services, who represented Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor, and Benema Taribo, his counterpart in the NDIC, said that the proposed amendments to the BOFIA Act would ensure that bankers adhere to international best practices.
Akinwumi particularly lauded the proposed amendments to sections 3,4 and 5 of the BOFIA Act 2017 the best initiatives to reposition the banking sector.
Some of the penalties in the 70 proposed amendments to the BOFIA Act 2017 include:
(a) A fine of N20 million on banks that fail to comply with the conditions of the licence.
(b) A fine of N20 million on any director that fails to declare any property he/she owns that runs contrary to the Act.
(c) A fine of N10 million against a director or manager that fails to keep a book of account.
(d) A fine of N2 million on banks that fail to publish its annual report of its general meeting in two reputable national dailies among others
E-Financial
Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme
“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.
MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.
Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.
The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.
The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.
E-Financial
CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
The inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.
In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.
“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.
The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.
However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.
Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.
Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.
E-Financial
CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.
The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.
Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.
“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”
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