The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Banks

  • CBN stops banks from taking charges on bulk transfers

    CBN stops banks from taking charges on bulk transfers

    Commercial banks can no longer take Short Message Service (SMS) charges on bulk bank transfers done through the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), The Nation learnt at the weekend.

    The RTGS is an interbank funds transfer system on “real time” basis and “gross”. Settlement in the “real time” means that the transaction takes place almost immediately.

    The banks were previously charging N4 per transaction or text message fee on all bulk transfers, but were directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt such fees in the interest of customers.

    The CBN’s directive has further cut banks’ multiple revenue streams that form a major part of the huge profits they declared in recent years.

    A Customer Service Officer in one of the Tier-1 banks told The Nation that most salary accounts that are funded through bulk transfers are no longer getting transaction alerts because the fee cannot be absorbed by customers or charged on their accounts.

    The source said banks were complying with the CBN directive while customers under such arrangements are expected to use bank-specific digital codes to check their account balances as they can no longer get bulk-transfers related transaction alerts.

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had directed that any person subscribing to any of the Nigerian GSM networks must not be charged more than N4 for SMS, sent to other networks. The NCC set a price cap of N4 per message for all domestic Off-Net Messaging Service in line with Sections 4 and Chapter V11 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003.

    Speaking on e-payment at a meeting with financial journalists in Lagos, CBN Director, Banking & Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun, described e-payment as any form of payment that allows the use of electronics system to initiate, authorise and confirm the transfer of money between two parties.

    The transaction reason, he said, could be for the payment for goods and services, settlement of obligations, gifts among others.

    He explained that e-payments are driven by a network of interconnected systems, which make it possible for exchanges of value between payer and payee, sender and receivers or donor and donee.

    “Banks, Payment Service Providers (PSPs), Financial Authorities and Central Banks play various roles in developing the payments system infrastructure to drive electronic payments, that is nationally utilized. The e— payments industry refers to all stakeholders, operators, regulators, infrastructures, merchants, retailers and the final consumers of the payments products and services. Payment technologies and platforms bind the industry together in a tight ecosystem,” he said.

    Fatokun disclosed that global non-cash (electronic payment) transaction volumes grew at 8.9 per cent to reach $387.3 billion in 2014, an increase, driven by accelerated growth in developing markets.

    “Cards have been the fastest growing payments instrument since 2010, as cheque use has declined consistently and significantly. Debit cards accounted for the highest share (45.7 per cent) of global e-payment transactions and were also the fastest growing (12.8 per cent) payments instrument in  2014,” he said.

    According to him, global non-cash volumes are estimated to have grown by 10.1 per cent to reach $426.3 billion in 2015, aided by high growth in emerging economies across the world, including Africa even as the Nigerian e-payments industry has been evolving in line with the evolution in global payments in both Wholesale and Retail systems.

    “Banks, PSPs, and the CBN have played various roles in developing the payments system and creating products and channels for electronic payments. The Retail Payments Transformation Programme of the CBN has led to the introduction of various electronic payments products and services by operators in the industry. The electronic products are gradually reducing the usage of cheques and cash, as noticed consistently in the annual performance report since the inception of the Cash-less Policy in 2012,” he said.

    He said the volume and value of transactions based on cheques and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) have been consistently reducing yearly since 2013, while same data for the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System- NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP), Automated Teller Machine (ATM), and mobile money channels have been on the increase. This is an indication of users’ preference for instant value channels over non-instant payment channels.

    “The ATM Channel accounts for the highest volume of transactions, while the NIP accounts for the highest value of transactions annually. This is because the ATM is usually the e-payment channel that new and lower value account holders always interface with, while corporates and upwardly mobile middle class customers make transfers using NIP,” he said.

    The CBN director disclosed that banks and other e-payment service providers operate in a highly regulated environment. “Regulation is necessary to ensure that operators focus on delivering products and services that enable compliance, efficiency, financial stability and a positive customer experience. The attempt to regulate electronic payments in Nigeria started with the CBN Electronic Banking Guidelines, issued in August 2003,” he said.

    Also, in furtherance of its effort to promote and facilitate the development of efficient and effective systems for the settlement of transactions, including the development of electronic payments system, the CBN has since 2008, issued and reviewed several e-payment related framework, guidelines and circulars.

  • NUBIFIE urges Fed Govt to inject funds into banks

    The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) has appealed to the Federal Government to inject funds into the banking sector to boost its activities.

    Its President, Mr Musa Danjuma, who spoke at the sixth Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Lagos, said the financial sector has gone through fundamental transformation in all areas of its activities.

    According to Danjuma, there have been policy interventions by the government, evolving innovations in ICT-driven operations and new employment system and its impact on economic and social status of workers among others.

    He said the government should put back some of the money realised from Treasury Single Account (TSA) with a proviso that it should be deployed to critical sectors of the economy.

    He said the financial sector has been under close watch for some years through various intervention measures by regulatory authorities and this has impacted on socio-economic development and issues in work place.

    The union leader said the issue of mergers and acquisitions also led to job losses as consequence of re-alignment and restructuring of banks and insurance industry weakened the capacity of the union to engage employers on the issue of condition of service.

    On TSA, Danjuma said the union supported its introduction, but the policy created liquidity challenges for financial institutions, which now relied on government funds to manage their business and generate income.

    He further said that government should ensure that it sustains the process of whistle blowing policy to ensure that it succeeds in the fight against corruption.

    “As a union we pledge our support for the policy and commend the National Assembly for a bill to institutionalise the war against corruption and discourage any attempt to abuse the policy for self seeking purpose,” Danjuma said.

  • House panel orders banks to allow Patience Jonathan access accounts

    House panel orders banks to allow Patience Jonathan access accounts

    THE Public Petitions Committee of House of Representatives has directed six banks to  allow former first lady Dame Patience Jonathan and her relatives to access their accounts  that have no restriction order from a court or any anti-corruption agency.

    The lawmakers urged the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, to appear before it on October 4.

    The committee regretted that Magu failed to honour its invitation on three occasions. It, however, advised that it should not be compelled to force his appearance before.

    At the continuation of hearing on a petition yesterday on harassment of the former first lady by security agencies, some of the affected banks denied restricting access to some of the accounts belonging to her.

    The banks said access was only denied to the accounts flagged by the EFCC.

    Diamond Bank said Mrs. Jonathan has three accounts with it. The bank said one was closed and the other two have no restrictions on them, including that of her non-governmental organisation (NGO), Women for Change.

    Fidelity Bank said it has no account being maintained by the former first lady. EcoBank requested for specific accounts involved as it has no previous knowledge of the accounts being mentioned by Mrs. Johnathan’s representatives.

    According to the former first lady, who was represented by Ayodeji Adedipe of Granville Abibo and Co, a Union Bank account belonging to her two NGOs , ARM Foundation and World Peace Outreach, were also placed on restriction without due process.

    The bank, in its response, said the ARM Foundation account became inaccessible as a result of the temporary precautionary order of restriction placed on it by EFCC.

    The committee ordered that the account be converted into a premium deposit account to enjoy necessary interest denied it since the restriction order until the EFCC gives a different directive.

    The committee asked Aridolf Jo Resort, another property belonging to Mrs. Jonathan, which was accused of evading tax by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the tune of N10 million to pay its tax.

    Mrs. Jonathan’s representative said the company was up-to-date with its tax returns, adding that FIRS did not communicate details of the said evaded tax to it.

    The company tendered two FIRS receipts dated August and October 2016 showing payment of N38, 700 and N43, 030.

    FIRS representative said records of the two payment were available but short of the official threshold, while adding that several correspondences sent to the company since June 2016 were ignored until enforcement was carried out in July  2017.

    According to FIRS, the company refused to supply it with relevant document with which to access it. Tax officials were also stopped from carrying out the enforcement by some militants after failed efforts to get the requested documents.

    In his ruling, Committee chairman, Uzomoma Nkem-Abonta, gave the two 14 days to reconcile their records, adding that the hotel must pay its tax.

    “We are not siding anybody. But as a legislature, we cannot condone tax evasion by any individual or organisation because tax is one resource we have not totally explored in this country as a source of revenue for government,” Nkem-Abonta said.

    The committee also gave the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) two and a half hours to provide details of the November 30, 2016 raid on  Mrs. Jonathan’s Maitama, Abuja house.

    The committee said it was not convinced that there was a whistleblower that necessitated the raid in the first place.

    NDLEA’s representative , Femi Olruntoba, said the agency was misled into raiding Mrs. Johnathan’s house but declined to reveal the identity of the whistleblower in public.

    He said the agency had already apologised for the mistake.

    On the appearance of EFCC boss, the committee said collusion between government agencies was not healthy and should not be encouraged but Magu should not allow the House to force his appearance before it.

    According to the committee, the appearance of Magu or his representative was critical to the proceeding. It added that Magu’s absence was stalling the investigation.

  • Banks dump pension assets for low-cost funds

    Banks dump pension assets for low-cost funds

    Many commercial banks are dumping their high risk assets, especially pension funds, for low-cost deposits at the retail end of the market, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    They are going for low-cost funds, especially savings and demand deposits, to enable them lend at lower interest rate and make higher margins.

    The  pension funds, under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), grew to about N6.5 trillion at the end of July 2017, with contributors hitting 7. 6 million. The fund rose to about N6.5 trillion from the N6.4 trillion it was in April.

    Under a new regulation on investment of pension fund assets Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) were asked  to invest  pension  funds  to  ensure  safety and maintenance of fair returns.

    The National Pension Commission attaches importance to corporate governance  practices  in  entities  or  specialist  investment funds seeking pension fund investments.

    But not all the pension assets  are kept with banks. Large part of the family is invested in bonds, sukuk, treasury bills, global depository notes and other securities issued by the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or their agencies.

    Confirming the banks’ focus a low cost funds, Wema Bank’s Executive Director, Mrs. Folake Sanu said the decline in their  deposit portfolio was a deliberate effort to change the structure of deposit. It is also to give priority to low cost deposits as against term deposits including pension funds.

    She said Wema was targeting low cost funds from the retail-end of the market, insisting that retail is the future of banking.

    “We are trying to manage the high cost of funds that are prevalent in the industry, focusing basically on retail market through savings and current accounts, instead of bloating the deposit base with huge term and time deposits”Mrs. Sanu said.

    She noted that the loan book remained diversified as there were no significant exposures to the upstream oil sub-sector, power sector and foreign currency loans, the areas, which according to his, some banks had issues during the year.

    An industry source explained that the funds with the banks are those under the old pension scheme – mainly parastatals and will remain with interested banks until the last pensioner in that category dies. “Pension for pensioners under the old scheme still goes to the banks as cash receipt through the Pension Transitional Directorate (PTAD), which credits retirees’ bank accounts. Over N300 billion was remitted to the banks in the last few months and the inflow into interested lenders will continue,” the source said.

    The source explained that high net-worth customers can bring say N300 million and be asking for between 10 and 20 per cent interest, but the retail customer walks in with N100,000 and does not mind getting four per cent.

    “Therefore,  if a bank has more of the retail accounts, and is not incurring more cost, it can lend cheaper and make higher profit. Also, high net-worth customers are more demanding, they want one-on-one service which is more costly. You have to deploy manpower to service them. Many of them do not want to read emails, and do not want to complete account opening forms online”.

    Findings showed that six smaller banks recorded N233 billion decline in deposit in the first half of this year as they avoided costly assets due to customers’ demand for higher interest rate on deposits.

    The customers want higher rates, arguing that the benchmark interest rate – Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) has been at 14 per cent for more than two years; banks sometimes pay less than four per cent interest on deposits.

    The federal government is also into the deal. Its Savings Bond, spearheaded by the Debt Management Office (DMO) offering less than 14 per cent to investors as against treasury bills rate of around 18.5 per cent. But by the time treasury bills rate is marked up with risk premium, the cost of the fund will probably be at 20 to 22 per cent.

    “Again, one has to look at the operating environment. If a bank for instance is borrowing at 20 to 22 per cent, how much is it going to lend to customers? So, that’s the challenge many of the banks are facing. Retail is the future. I think about 47 per cent of Nigerians is unbanked. A lot of cash is in the informal sector and banks are going for such funds,” an asset manager who does not want to be quoted said.

    The source added: “Again, there is what we call investors’ apathy. If a bank continues to go to same group of the high net-worth customers for deposits, including those handling the pension funds, it will get tired overtime. The lender is put under pressure based on the level of attention such customers always need. But when it comes to the retail segment of the market, even if two banks are selling the same product, both of them can market the customers comfortably without getting to the same client because the market is so huge.

    “Again, with retail, the sustainability of the funds is more guaranteed. If you have a balance sheet built by fewer number of people, if any of them moves his funds, then the impact will be heavy on the bank. But if you have like 100,000 customers each depositing N10, 000, that will be N1 billion. If 10 of them decide to move their funds, that will be N100, 000 and the bank will not feel the impact. But if you have 100 customers with N50 million each, if one of them pulls out, the impact will be significant,” the source explained.

    Besides, banks are now using Financial Technology (FinTech) to drive savings at the retail end of the market because it saves time and cost given that a customer can open an account with his mobile phone without visiting the bank.

  • BDCs lose ground to banks in forex sales

    BDCs lose ground to banks in forex sales

    More than 700 Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators are inactive in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) Forex Window as forex end users embrace commercial banks, The Nation has learnt.

    The preference for commercial banks followed the uncompetitive rate regime that shifted the business patronage in favour of the lenders. The practice has cut BDCs’ turnover, putting their businesses under threat.

    Confirming the development at the weekend,  Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) President Aminu Gwadabe said the BDC business had been badly affected by the uncompetitive rate as the CBN sells dollars to BDCs at higher rate compared to what the regulator sells to commercial banks, yet both institutions target the same market segment and customers.

    On the CBN’s approved list, 3,389 BDC operators have been licensed and are expected to get $40,000 weekly from the CBN Forex Window. The apex bank disburses about $135.5 million to the 3,389 registered BDCs weekly to sell to forex end users. The funds are for Personal Travel Allowances (PTA), Business Travel Allowances (BTA), medical needs and school fees.

    The BDCs, Gwadabe said, buy dollar from the CBN at N360/$1 and sell to end users at N362/$1 while the regulator sells to commercial banks at N358/$1 and the banks sell to end users at N360/$1.

    Gwadabe described the buying rate for the BDCs as “uncompetitive” and “a big disincentive for many forex users to patronise the operators. He said the banks and the BDCs service the same market segment, they should get dollars at the same rate to enable both institutions compete favourably.

    According to the ABCON boss, the banks enjoy a large customer base with the customers having their accounts debited to cover the cost of purchase. Such convenience plus a lower rate put the banks at an advantage position to attract more customers than BDCs, he said.

    He lamented that BDCs are not only buying at exorbitant rate, but also sell at a rate higher than that of the banks, hence creating low patronage for the operators.

    Gwadabe advised the CBN to review the rate at which the dollar is sold to the BDCs to boost the recovery of the naira against dollar. The naira has remained at N368/$1 at the parallel market in the last one week, a major improvement from N520/$1 it exchanged last February.

    He said the success recorded by the CBN in stabilising the naira was largely contributed by the BDCs, which remain backbone of the retail forex segment of the economy.

    “The CBN should be proactive enough to quickly review the BDC buying rate to ensure effective competition among all the stakeholders. There is no need to give the banks undue advantage over the BDCs as is currently the case based on the level of disparity seen in the dollar buying rate by both sectors. Nothing stops the CBN from ensuring that both the banks and BDCs buy dollars at same rate,” he stressed.

    Gwadabe said the rate challenge faced by BDCs, if not checked, would trigger a liquidity crisis that may derail the ongoing recovery of the naira against the dollar. He said the BDCs will continue to support CBN’s determination to stabilise  the exchange rate, and strengthen the value of the local currency.

    Gwadabe also called on the CBN to increase the volume of Personal Travel Allowances (PTAs) from $4,000 to $8,000; Business Travel Allowances (BTAs) from $5,000 to $10,000; school fees from $5,000 to $20,000 and medicals from $5,000 to $15,000 quarterly to deepen liquidity in the market.

    Gwadabe praised the CBN for liberalising the forex market and making more dollars available, adding that making the funds readily available in right volumes will double the positive impact of the policies on the economy.

  • Banks remove $1.2b 9Mobile debt from books

    Banks remove $1.2b 9Mobile debt from books

    The 12 banks involved in the $1.2 billion 9Mobile loan are setting aside a large part of the debt from their books ahead of the December 31 end-date for the fiscal year.

    The mobile company took the loan four years ago from a consortium of banks. It failed to repay the loan due to a currency crisis and the economic recession.

    In the deal are: Zenith Bank, GTBank, First Bank, United Bank for Africa, Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, First City Monument Bank, Stanbic IBTC and Union Bank.

    Zenith Bank yesterday announced that it had made a provision on 30 per cent of its loan to 9Mobile, the country’s fourth largest telecoms group formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria.

    The bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Amangbo, said: “We have taken about 30 per cent … as a provision, which we believe is very prudent as the company is undergoing restructuring … to prepare for a new investor.”

    Zenith Bank is the largest lender to 9Mobile, one source familiar with the matter disclosed. The bank has declined to disclose its exposure to the telecoms group. The Tier-1 lender had last week reported a pre-tax profit of N92.18 billion for its half year against N53.91 billion a year ago.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) in July saved Etisalat Nigeria from collapse, stopping the company from going into receivership. But the telecom giant witnessed a board, management and name change.

    Former Keystone Bank Executive Director Richard Obire said many other banks were likely to provide for certain percentage of the loans, depending on their profitability positions.

    He said Zenith Bank, being a highly profitable bank, was thinking that it might not be able to recover the full money. “Zenith may be considering that when it gets down to negotiation with 9Mobile, it may end up giving about 30 per cent of the debt. The debtor may ask for more restructuring and loan forgiveness,” Obire said.

    According to him, some banks are conservative and may want to stay within the five per cent regulatory non-performing loan threshold while some may want to exceed the limit. “Banks that are making more money are more likely to provide for their loans than those with less profitability,” he said.

    Obire said by exceeding the 10 per cent peg for sub-standard loans to go for 30 per cent provision, Zenith Bank was indirectly saying that although the loan was not doubtful, but it was more than sub-standard. “If the bank does 30 per cent provision on the loan in 2017, it may do 50 per cent in 2018 while considering the variables surrounding the loans,” he said.

    Head Treasuries at Ecobank Nigeria Olakunle Ezun said it is expected that the banks will provide for the loan, which he described as a bad debt. “For now, 9Mobile loan is like a non-performing loan for the banks. I understand that the banks are trying to restructure the loan. If they succeed, it will become a performing loan; otherwise it will have to be provided for in their books,” he said.

    He said more banks may provide for the loan by year-end, but such a decision will be determined by the boards and their interpretation of the future of 9Mobile.

    According to CBN Prudential Guidelines, banks are expected to review  their  credit  portfolio  continuously  (at  least once  in a  quarter)  with  a  view  to recognising  any deterioration in  credit quality. Such reviews should systematically and realistically classify banks’ credit exposures based on the perceived risks of default.

    To facilitate comparability of banks’ classification of their credit portfolios, the guidelines said assessment  of  risk  of  default  should  be  based  on  criteria,  which  should include,  but  are  not  limited  to,  repayment  performance,  borrower’s repayment  capacity  on  the  basis  of  current  financial  condition  and  net realisable value of collateral.

    The CBN prudential guidelines stipulate that a credit facility should be deemed as non-performing when interest or principal is due and unpaid for 90 days or more;   interest  payments  equal  to  90  days  interest  or  more  have been capitalized, rescheduled or rolled over into a new loan.

    The guideline said a loan can be substandard, doubtful or lost. A loan is subs-standard when unpaid principal and/or interest remain outstanding for more than 90 days but less than 180 days. Credit facilities which display well defined weaknesses  which  could  affect  the  ability  of  borrowers  to repay,  such  as  inadequate  cash  flow  to  service  debt, undercapitalisation or insufficient working capital, absence of adequate financial information or collateral documentation, among others, are said to be sub-standard.

    According to the CBN guidelines,  a loan is classified as doubtful when unpaid principal and/or interest remain outstanding for at least 180 days but less than 360 days and in  addition  to  the weaknesses  associated  with  sub-standard  credit  facilities reflect that full repayment of the debt is not certain or that realisable collateral values will be insufficient to cover bank’s exposure.

    A loan is classified as lost when unpaid principal and/or interest remain outstanding for 360 days or more and in  addition  to  the weaknesses  associated  with  doubtful  credit  facilities,  are considered  uncollectible  and  are  of  such  little  value  that continuation  as  a  bankable  asset  is  unrealistic.

     

  • FBN: Banks to stabilise 9mobile before sale

    The 13 commercial banks that gave $1.2 billion loan to 9mobile  will try to stabilise the business of the firm  until new  investors step in, First Bank of Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Adesola Adeduntan, said yesterday.

    The bank chief said  there was no need to impair the loans extended to the telecom firm, because of its cash flows.

    “On the part of lenders, we are trying to reposition the company till we find new investors. With the level of cash flow we believe there will be no need for impairment,” Adeduntan told Reuters.

    Another lender, FCMB, said on Tuesday lenders had agreed to extend a $1.2 billion loan which the mobile operator, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, took out four years ago but struggled to repay due to a currency crisis and a recession in Nigeria.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) stepped in last month to save Etisalat Nigeria from collapse and prevent lenders placing the country’s fourth biggest telecoms group into receivership, prompting a board, management and name change.

    The local banks which participated in the loan, many of which are reporting first-half results, have been trying to work out the value of 9mobile before deciding whether to impair the loan or wait until the company finds new investors.

    Banks involved in the loan deal include: Zenith Bank , GT Bank, First Bank, UBA , Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank.

    GT Bank with $138 million in outstanding loans to 9mobile and Access Bank with $131 million are among the most exposed. The telecoms group has asked Citigroup and Standard Bank to find an investor to buy into the firm and three companies have shown interest, a banking source close to the deal said.

     

  • N249.6b ‘hidden’ funds: Fed Govt urges banks to deny in court

    N249.6b ‘hidden’ funds: Fed Govt urges banks to deny in court

    Banks denying their alleged link to the hoarding of funds due to the Federal Government have been asked to direct their denial to the court.

    A Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday, granted an ex-parte application by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for an order directing the banks to remit the funds to the Federal Government.

    Justice Chuka Obiozor, who gave the order, warned that it  would be made permanent on August 8, unless the banks show cause why the order should not be made permanent.

    The office of the AGF, through its lawyer, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), accused seven banks  of unlawfully withholding $793,200,000 (about N249,659,700,000.00) in breach of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

    The banks listed in the court documents filed by the office of the AGF are: United Bank for Africa (UBA), Diamond Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, First Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Limited and Sterling Bank Plc.

    Sterling Bank, Fidelity and UBA have denied wrongdoing.

    Court documents stated that $367.4 million was hidden by three government agencies in UBA; $41 million was kept in a National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) fixed deposit account with Skye Bank.

    Also, $277.9 million was found in Diamond Bank, $18.9 million in First Bank, $24.5 million in Fidelity Bank, $17million in Keystone Bank and $46.5 million in Sterling Bank.

    Since the court’s order was reported in the media on Friday, many of the banks have continued to deny any wrong doing.

    But, a senior official in the office of the AGF faulted the banks for rushing to the media with their denial.

    According to the official, since the court has adjourned to August 8 and given the banks up till then to show cause why the order should not be made permanent, their concern should be how to convince the court that they acted legally.

    The official, who wouldn’t want to be named, said: “Don’t mind them. Let them continue to deny. They should file their processes and we will meet them in court. They appear not to know the extent of evidence we have against them.

    “There were even some accounts that were dormant, yet millions of U.S. dollars were found in them. Some of the accounts were opened without names.

    “How do you keep dollars in accounts and yet fail to ascribe names to them? Is that a standard banking practice? I suspect what they are doing is not regular banking.

    “We are waiting for them to file. They can start filing by Monday. This case will be interesting. This case will lead us to a lot of other things. I don’t want to say more than that.

    “They should tell us the government officials and agencies that authorised them to breach the government’s TSA policy and why. We are waiting.

    “Those agencies and officials will have to explain to the court where they got their powers to disregard the government’s TSA policy and encourage banks to hoard government’s funds in coded accounts.

    “The government is determined, this time, to ensure things are done well. We will do all it takes to sanitise the banking sector and free money for the government to fulfil its many promises to the people.”

  • Visa,banks partner to deepen mobile payment

    Global payments leader, Visa yesterday in Lagos, launched mVisa, its mobile payment service. The solution is being rolled out across Africa.

    Consumers from Visa’s Nigerian partner banks can pay with any mobile phone wherever mVisa is accepted. mVisa transactions are processed via Visa’s global network, VisaNet, applying the same scale, security and reliability as any other Visa transaction, the firm explained.

    With the launch of the app, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank and First Bank will now offer their customers the convenience of mVisa through their mobile banking apps. Access Bank, Ecobank, United Bank for Africa and Zenith Bank will go live with mVisa in the coming weeks. Nigeria is the first market to provide customers the convenience of making cross-border payments using mVisa.

    President for Visa sub-Saharan Africa, Andrew Torre, said small and medium merchants in particular, no longer have to invest in expensive point of sale infrastructure as mVisa gives them the freedom to accept payments in a convenient, secure and affordable manner that their customers trust.

    “We are very excited to see more and more merchants come on board every day as they begin to understand the benefits that mVisa brings, including real-time notifications of payments and access to sales and transactions history. We have campaigns lined up for the coming months to support our merchants and encourage new customers to experience mVisa at various locations across Nigeria.

    “Today, Visa and its financial institution partners are, for the first time, providing the benefits of digital commerce to potentially everyone, everywhere across Nigeria and the African continent, bringing millions more people into the formal financial system,” he said.

    Diamond Bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Uzoma Dozie, said the launch of mVisa is timely and aligns with the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the digital growth strategy of the bank.

  • Customs accuses banks of sabotaging e-auction

    Customs accuses banks of sabotaging e-auction

    THE Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd) has condemned the refusal of Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to participate in the e-auction bidding exercise inaugurated by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

    He accused the banks of sabotaging the service’s effort at collecting revenue for the federation.

    He said: “I am surprised and I don’t know what to say. This is an economic sabotage. The money you are going to collect is not coming to Customs and it is not coming to me as a person. It is going to the Federation Account that will be distributed to the three tiers of government. So, you deny that.”

    The Customs boss spoke in an interactive session with the chief executive officers (CEOs) of 17 banks that honoured his invitation in Abuja, yesterday.

    He expressed surprise that the same banks which participated in the auction exercise when it was run manually distanced themselves from the automated auction system, leaving only Jaiz Bank as the sole participant.

    With the participation of one bank, the process is cumbersome for bidders, who concluded that the exercise was skewed to favour Northerners and Muslims.

    He said the same banks that collect duties for the NCS were reluctant to be part of the e-auction bidding process.

    The Customs boss said he was glad that 17 banks CEOs were in the session to speak their minds on the issue for possible solution.

    “I want to know if there are problem, and what are the problems?” he asked.

    He noted that fraudulent bidders had infiltrated the process by conniving with one another to circumvent the transparency and integrity of the exercise.

    According to him, whoever cuts corner will be delisted from the system.

    He, however, dropped the hint that the bidding process yielded N25,375,500.00 to the Federal Government.

    The parties resolved that a technical committee with their representatives would meet to iron out the technical issues until the stabilisation of e-auction process.