The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cbn

  • Ex-bankers to file fresh suit against CBN, others over N9.8b entitlements

    Barring any last minute hitch, over 10, 000 former bankers who filed a class action suit through the Registered Trustees of the Association of Ex-Staff of Non-Consolidated Banks of Nigeria at the National Industrial Court, Lagos Judicial Division have resolved to file individual suits.

    Confirming this development at the weekend in a telephone interview with our correspondent was the counsel to the aggrieved ex-bankers, Bar. Daniel Omotilewa.

    According to him, this move followed the striking out of the subsisting suit in court last Thursday by Justice Benedict Kanyip.

    Expatiating, he said, “We’re just been tactical about the whole thing.

    Definitely we’re withdrawing the case to file a fresh one. We came to this court under the umbrella of Registered Trustees of the Association of Ex-Staff of Non-Consolidated Banks of Nigeria and since we foresee a challenge that we may not be able to follow through with this action with our prayers in this court, the wisest thing do under the circumstances was to take a new path,” he said.

    Thankfully, he said: “All the affected members of the group are all in agreement with the new line of action. What we want to do now is to compile the comprehensive list of those affected as we plan the next line of action at the court,” he said.

    The lawyer who hinted that the fresh case will be filed later this week, was however quick to admit that the resumed date of hearing of the fresh is at the discretion of the court.

    Echoing similar sentiments, the chairman of the group, Magnus Maduka, while addressing journalists said: “We decided to restrategise because there are certain development. There is no way we can continue the way we are going and succeed unless we factor in some of the things we know.”

    “We were trying to explore the possibility of not going to court at all these past years believing that the CBN and NDIC and the banks concerned would do the needful. But it does appear that we may have to wait forever and that is why we decided to take the matter before the court to get justice for all the affected parties,” Maduka stressed.

    It may be recalled that the consolidation exercise introduced by the then CBN governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo which swept through the banking sub-sector, left some banks defunct as a result of their inability to meet the new N25billion capital benchmark.

    Consequently, over 10, 000 ex-staff of banks have sued the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over non-payment of their N9.8billion gratuities 11 years after they were retrenched.

    Also joined in the suit are Ecobank Nigeria Plc, UBA Plc, Skye Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.

    The claimants had instituted the action on behalf of the ex-staff of eight banks including: Allstates Trust Bank, Assurance Bank, Eagle Bank, Gulf Bank, Hallmark Bank, Liberty Bank, Metrolpolitan Bank and Trade Bank respectively.

    A breakdown of the claimants’ gratuities showed that Allstates and Hallmark Bank both acquired by Ecobank were owed over N7billion.

    Besides, UBA which acquired Gulf Bank, Liberty Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trade Bank owed ex-staff of the respective banks over N1.3bn just as Skye Bank and Zenith Banks were owing over N600m and N22million.

  • Reps to probe CBN over non-remittance of $5b

    Reps to probe CBN over non-remittance of $5b

    • Seek baillout for collapsed, ailing firms

    The House of Representatives is to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for alleged under remittance of over $5billion to the Federation Account.

    The lawmakers also urged the Federal Government to design a bailout fund for callapsed and ailing industries across the country.

    This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Ayo Omidiran (APC, Osun). He noted that the CBN being the banker of government, receives financial in flows on behalf of the federation and should make same available on demand via the Federation Account on a monthly basis.

    She however regretted that the apex bank has not been forthright on the  issue.

    He said:  “The CBN takes advantage of this all important function of warehousing funds for the three tiers of government and preparation of the Federation Account statement, to manipulate the system by opening various accounts not known to the three tiers of government where funds are remitted, hidden, diverted and spent without authorisation.

    “The CBN in 2006, opened various accounts with JP Morgan Chase Bank in New York, USA, in which   International Oil Companies (IOCs) remit all revenues for the federation.

    “The CBN still operates an account with Federal Reserve Bank of New York, USA, alongside that of JP Morgan Chase Bank from 2006 till date.

    “The CBN’s responsibility of receiving revenue in foreign currencies and converting same to Naira for the benefit of the three tiers of government, has led to substantial loss in the amounts remitted to the Federation Account.

    “About the substantial difference between the official exchange rate of dollar to naira, and that at which the Bureau De Change sell in the parallel market, whereas it is the CBN that sells dollars to the Bureau Dr Change operators on a weekly basis as well as regulate the financial market.

    “In the recent past, FAAC meetings have been postponed due to irregularities observed in the Federation Account by the states.”

    According to her,  CBN violated Section 80 (2) of the 1999 constitution as amended by spending funds not appropriated by the National Assembly.

    “The CBN takes 0.25 per cent of all foreign denominated revenue as exchange commission (for converting dollars to naira), but even after deducting this commission, the balance credited to the Federation Account at various times have been in negative difference (against expectations), running into billions of naira per year.

    “It is worrisome  that the office of the Accountant General of the Federation has not reported these infractions of under remittance of millions of dollars and trillions of naira into the Federation Account by the CBN,” she lamented.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

  • CBN: NeFF boosts e-payment, banking security

    The Nigeria payment system and banking security have improved since the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) creation six years ago, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Operations, Adebayo Adekola, has said.

    Speaking at NeFF’s end of year party held in Lagos he said  NeFF’s creation, the country was emerging from an era of magnetic stripe challenges which was effectively truncated with the migration to Personal Identification Number (PIN) and chip technology for card issuance.

    This, he said, ensured that we reduced Automated Teller Machines (ATM) fraud to zero with the aid of this technology.

    “Since this feat, the industry has consistently been inundated with other types of fraud, from card not present fraud, to insider abuses and phishing scams. In all these, the forum has responded not only proactively but also effectively in fashioning strategies to combat these threats to our payments system,” he said.

    The NeFF Chairman ‘Dipo Fatokun has said that 2018 will be a tough year for electronic payment fraudsters as the forum will take steps that would take steps that would nip their activities in the bud.

    Fatokun, who is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Payment System Department, said the forum had in the last six years of its operation, embarked on several industry defining initiatives backed by three major circulars that have emanated from previous deliberations of the forum.

    According to him, such initiatives include implementing a two-factor authentication for internal banking processes, instituting regulation for card present fraud in a non-EMV environment, and creation of fraud desks for effective e-fraud control.

    “In order to raise the bar of our collaboration effort, the NeFF also led the industry on a scheduled visit to the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) facility coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser to the President, where the Industry was enjoined to utilize the facility in bolstering its fraud prevention efforts in a more proactive, effective and efficient way,” he said.

    He said the NeFF efforts in 2018 will be aimed at further securing banking channels, raising awareness on fraud mitigants to the entire ecosystem and deepening our collaboration and partnership with both law-enforcement and telecommunication stakeholders within and outside Nigeria.

    “We have thus far restricted the activities of electronic fraudsters in Nigeria, cutting back on losses suffered for a third straight year. In the coming year, we will ensure that not only fewer losses occur but the inclination to attempt will also wane,” he added.

     

  • Ex-bankers to file fresh suit against CBN, NDIC, others over N9.8b entitlements

    Ex-bankers to file fresh suit against CBN, NDIC, others over N9.8b entitlements

    Barring any last minute hitch, over 10, 000 former bankers who filed a class action suit through the Registered Trustees of the Association of Ex-Staff of Non-Consolidated Banks of Nigeria at the National Industrial Court, Lagos Judicial Division have resolved to file individual suits.

    Confirming this development at the weekend in a telephone interview with our correspondent was the counsel to the aggrieved ex-bankers, Bar. Daniel Omotilewa.

    According to him, this move followed the striking out of the subsisting suit in court last Thursday by Justice Benedict Kanyip.

    Expatiating, he said, “We’re just been tactical about the whole thing.

    Definitely we’re withdrawing the case to file a fresh one. We came to this court under the umbrella of Registered Trustees of the Association of Ex-Staff of Non-Consolidated Banks of Nigeria and since we foresee a challenge that we may not be able to follow through with this action with our prayers in this court, the wisest thing do under the circumstances was to take a new path,” he said.

    Thankfully, he said: “All the affected members of the group are all in agreement with the new line of action. What we want to do now is to compile the comprehensive list of those affected as we plan the next line of action at the court,” he said.

    The lawyer who hinted that the fresh case will be filed later this week, was however quick to admit that the resumed date of hearing of the fresh is at the discretion of the court.

    Echoing similar sentiments, the chairman of the group, Magnus Maduka, while addressing journalists said: “We decided to restrategise because there are certain development. There is no way we can continue the way we are going and succeed unless we factor in some of the things we know.”

    “We were trying to explore the possibility of not going to court at all these past years believing that the CBN and NDIC and the banks concerned would do the needful. But it does appear that we may have to wait forever and that is why we decided to take the matter before the court to get justice for all the affected parties,” Maduka stressed.

    It may be recalled that the consolidation exercise introduced by the then CBN governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo which swept through the banking sub-sector, left some banks defunct as a result of their inability to meet the new N25billion capital benchmark.

    Consequently, over 10, 000 ex-staff of banks have sued the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over non-payment of their N9.8billion gratuities 11 years after they were retrenched.

    Also joined in the suit are Ecobank Nigeria Plc, UBA Plc, Skye Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.

    The claimants had instituted the action on behalf of the ex-staff of eight banks including: Allstates Trust Bank, Assurance Bank, Eagle Bank, Gulf Bank, Hallmark Bank, Liberty Bank, Metrolpolitan Bank and Trade Bank respectively.

    A breakdown of the claimants’ gratuities showed that Allstates and Hallmark Bank both acquired by Ecobank were owed over N7billion.

    Besides, UBA which acquired Gulf Bank, Liberty Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trade Bank owed ex-staff of the respective banks over N1.3bn just as Skye Bank and Zenith Banks were owing over N600m and N22million.

  • Senate urges FMBN shareholders to pay up equities

    Senate urges FMBN shareholders to pay up equities

    The Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development has urged shareholders to pay up their equities in order to actualise the planned recapitalisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

    A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by FMBN Managing Director, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa said the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Barnabas Gemade made the call while on an oversight visit to the bank.

    Gemade listed the shareholders to include the Federal Government, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

    He observed that the CBN had vital role to play in making the FMBN function effectively by exercising its statutory roles, especially in the areas of funding and regulation.

    “There is no way FMBN can address the plethora of daunting challenges in the mortgage industry without being supported by the CBN and the Federal Government.

    “The N5billion capital base of the FMBN is abysmally low and the shareholders should hasten up by increasing the capital base to reflect current realities.

    “CBN should sanction commercial banks that defaulted in remitting 10 per cent of their loan portfolio to FMBN as investment to the development of a virile mortgage industry as required by the law.’’

    He promised that the committee would also ensure amendment of both the FMBN and National Housing Fund (NHF) Acts to make the bank function effectively.

    Read also: Senate plans to pass 2018 budget this month

    Gemade said N100 billion was approved in 2017 budget as intervention fund to support mortgage activities in the country.

    He directed the bank to follow up the matter with its supervisory ministry, adding that the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing should contact the Federal Ministry of Finance to secure release of the fund.

    In his remarks, Dangiwa said the bank had not received budgetary allocation from the Federal Government since its establishment.

    “Therefore, we rely solely on income generated from contributors under the NHF scheme to finance our activities,” he said.

    He lamented that the current N5 billion capital base of the bank was grossly inadequate, in view of the magnitude of its mandate to bridge the housing finance gap in Nigeria which was in the region of trillions of naira.

    According to him, FMBN has commenced strategic partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc for the management of mortgage–related transactions to reduce loan repayment default to the barest minimum.

    NAN

  • Minister urges CBN to cut agric lending rate

    Minister urges CBN to cut agric lending rate

    The Minister for Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce lending rate to agriculture as is the practice in other parts of the world.

    He spoke at the 2017 Annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat concluded in Lagos at the weekend.

    Ogbeh disclosed that the average interest rate charged on agriculture loans worldwide is 3.5 per cent adding that Nigeria’s nine per cent  is fine, but could be lower.

    “We could have it (interest rate) lower because when we meet farmers from Brazil, China, Uruguay, and United States, the average lending rate to agriculture is 3.5 per cent. In some places like Japan, there was a time it was zero. So, we would like to see it lower. If it is lower, it will become more attractive,” Ogbeh said.

    He also said there was need to bring more young people into mechanised farming because the generation of farmers are now 60 years old on the average. “In another two to four years, they cannot do much. If young people do not come on board, with mechanisation and lower interest rate, this country will starve and we do not want that to happen,” he said.

    Also speaking CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said Nigeria’s economy needs to grow by six or seven per cent for it to have greater impact on the lives of the people.

    He spoke on the theme: Improving Financial Access, Job Creation and Inclusive Growth in Nigeria. He said growth must be achieved at six or seven per cent for people to feel the impact and  reduce poverty rate.

    Emefiele said that after five quarters of continuous contraction of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), beginning from first quarter of 2016, the economy recorded a positive growth of 1.5 per cent in third quarter of this year, signaling an exit from the recession.

    But he said the growth figure is still low and that higher growth is needed to tackle unemployment, create more jobs and other issues.

    He said creating a more financially inclusive society is seen as the viable path towards sustainable economic growth.

     

  • Forex restriction on 41 items good for economy, says CBN

    Forex restriction on 41 items good for economy, says CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that restriction of access to foreign exchange (forex) on the 41 items has had a positive impact on the economy.

    CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor stated this on at the CBN Fair, a sensitisation programme, held at the Cultural Centre in Calabar, Cross-River State at the weekend.

    He said the implementation of the policy has created employment and helped to conserve the hitherto depleting nation’s foreign reserve, and that has led to positive impact on the economy.

    Okorafor, who was represented by Chukwudum Nzelu said the restriction of access to foreign exchange placed on the 41 items made Nigerians to start looking inward for the production of goods and products that the country has comparative advantage to be produced locally.

    The CBN spokesman said the successful implementation of the 41 items policy gave birth to the other initiatives such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) which has led to a revolution in the production of rice across the country.

    Continuing, he said the production of rice under the ABP was not only to ensure food security, but to create jobs along the value chain of rice production.  He added that with improved seedlings and farming techniques under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, rice production which stood at 3.5 tonnes per hectares has jumped to seven tonnes per hectare.

    Okorafor urged the participants to also key-in into the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS) which was targeted at youths between the ages of 18 to 35 years. The AADS when fully operational, is expected to employ at least 10 thousand jobs per state, across the 36 states of the federation including the FCT. The essence of this initiative, according to him, was to reduce drastically youth unemployment.

    Branch Controller, CBN Calabar Branch, Graham Kalio said the CBN fair was an interactive forum aimed at bridging the information gap that might exist concerning the policies, programmes and activities of the apex bank.

    The fair was attended by farmers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), persons from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and others who were genuinely interested in taking advantage of the CBN policies and programmes.

  • CBN chief: banks fail to disburse N26.4b equity cash to SMEs

    CBN chief: banks fail to disburse N26.4b equity cash to SMEs

    Banks have failed to lend N26.4 billion Agriculture-SMEs fund to customers, eight months after the cash was made available through equity contributions by the lenders, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said yesterday.

    Speaking at the ninth Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos, he said the banks were mandated last year by the CBN to contribute five per cent of their total assets as equity funds for lending to agriculture and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    Last year’s contributions which stood at N26.4 billion were released in April. They were meant  immediate disbursement to those who applied for loans.

    This year’s contribution is expected to hit N30 billion, bringing the total fund to N56.4 billion by the end of this year.

    Emefiele said: “The first of the issues that we looked at, you all recall this time last year, we said we were going to create an Agric SMEs fund. And in the month of April this year, we were able to put together about N26.4 billion.

    “But, as we speak even at this time, not a penny of that fund has been disbursed. It ‘s a shame that we will have N26.4 billion sitting in the CBN whereas there were people who needed access to the fund”.

    Emefiele said the committee is now determined to ensure that the fund get disbursed as loans to the customers to boost job creation and grow the economy.

    He said: “Since 95 per cent of businesses in Nigeria are SMEs, it is crucial if the economy must grow, the SMEs and small manufacturers must not be ignored.”

    According to him, financial access will lead to improve job creation and growth in the economy.

    The CBN chief said the fund will now be disbursed to over 100,000 SMEs by February next year to enable the beneficiaries to grow their businesses or stimulate agricultural production.

    The fund, he added, can also be used to buy machines and agricultural equipment and delivered to beneficiaries who will begin to payback.

    Emefiele said the committee had decided to reevaluate the conditions under which the facilities were to be made available.

    “It was meant to be just equity, but we found out that because of certain apathy on the part of people who have businesses and would have wanted to be part of it, most people shied away from the equity fund. So, we decided to amend it.  We decided that the fund needed to be reviewed completely. It must me in a way that we must improve access for people who need the facility that it must be done in a very speedy manner, so that those who need it can get it in good time so that they can run their business,” he said.

    The committee, which agreed that the fund must be affordable, also amended the fund’s tenor It raised the tenor of the fund to a minimum of seven years, providing for certain moratorium that would make it possible for beneficiaries to have the fund at low pricing and at a tenor that would give them ample time to repay.

    “The Bankers’ Committee looked at the governance principles around the pricing and it was agreed that the fund must be development-oriented.

    Besides, the facility must not be a profit maximisation scheme with a professional and transparent management process around it to give everybody comfort. That way, banks will be happy to be contributing to the fund which is their contribution to job creation and economic growth of the country,” he said.

    The committee agreed that under the governance principles, the fund must be seen to be sustainable, have a life and be in perpetuity.

    The committee decided that it will no longer be equity fund but a sort of preference share arrangement or debt structure for easy access for applicants.

  • CBN, NEXIM vote N550b to stimulate export

    CBN, NEXIM vote N550b to stimulate export

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) are making N550 billion available for lending to non-oil exporters.

    The loan will come at nine per cent interest rate and is expected to help the investors export more commodities, earn more foreign exchange from export proceeds and strengthen the economy.

    Central Bank Governor  Godwin Emefiele said N500 billion of the fund is from the Export Stimulation Facility while the balance of N50 billion is provided by  the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) Direct Intervention Fund.

    He spoke after a meeting with non-oil exporters, producers and processors in Lagos, Friday night.

    The framework for the disbursement of the fund, he said, would be released in the next one week by NEXIM Bank and the CBN Development Finance Department.

    Emefiele said that exporters will send in their request and when they get the fund, their operations will be monitored to ensure there is no undocumented export.

    He said that funding remains a major problem that every business faces and funding at concessionary pricing will help them carry out more export volumes.

    The CBN boss said that in the last two years, the country’s revenue has dropped significantly prompting the CBN and the Federal Government to consider revenue sources outside crude oil to boost its foreign exchange earnings.

    The scheme will be driven by Produce, Add Value and Export (PAVE) principles. He said the CBN engaged exporters and identified various products in the non-oil sector- cocoa, cashew nuts, palm produce, sesame seeds, solid minerals and rubber to benefit.

    “In order to create jobs for our people, there is a need for us to advance further to value addition and begin to talk about processing of exportable items like rather than export raw cashew, we are thinking of exporting processed cashew. Rather than export raw cocoa, we are thinking of giving support to companies that process cocoa to cocoa butter and cakes and all that,” he said.

    “All transactions that will be done and that will receive funding from the CBN will be for documented export transactions and we are also saying that before those facilities are provided to them, these exporters will commit through their banks.”

     

  • CBN donates N8bn business school edifice to ABU

    CBN donates N8bn business school edifice to ABU

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has completed and handed over an N8 billion worth, business school edifice to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The construction of the edifice called Centre of Excellence started in 2009. It was designed by the Nigeria’s apex bank to serve as a business school, which will produce post graduate students in Economics, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration and Statistics, that can compete favourably with graduates of renowned business schools around the world like Stanford, Yale and Harvard.

    Handing the Centre of Excellence edifice to the ABU authority, the CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Corporate Services, Alhaji Suleiman Barau said, the intervention was in recognition of the pivotal role of education in driving the economy.

    He said, “Education is the bedrock of economic development the world over and the Central Bank of Nigeria appreciates the pivotal role education plays in driving the economy. A key derivative of the Bank’s developmental function is therefore to support the educational subsector in Nigeria through the provision of physical projects such as buildings and equipment in schools.

    “Since 2009, the CBN, in recognition of the need to build capacity in the financial sector, embarked on the execution of building projects in institutions of higher learning, of which Ahmadu Bello University, is today one of the beneficiaries.

    “The Centre of Excellence project, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, was conceived in April 2009 and awarded in October 2009 to Messrs AFDIN Nigeria Limited. In conceiving this project, the aim of the Bank was to ensure students at post graduate levels in Economics, Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business administration and Statistics study in a serene and ambient environment that would stimulate effective learning with a view to building human capacity for the financial services sub-sector.

    “Indeed, the overall aspiration of the CBN in implementing the Centre of Excellence Project is to provide world class higher learning facilities comparable to other renowned business schools around the world like Stanford, Yale and Harvard” he said.

    While urging the university to develop high level of maintenance culture towards the centre, the CBN boss disclosed that the apex bank had set aside N2billion for the running and maintenance of the business school for certain period of time.

    He also said similar centres have been built at the University of Ibadan, the Enugu campus of the University of Nigeria (UNN), while three other universities will soon benefit from similar projects to ensure spread across the country’s six geo-political zones.

    Receiving the centre on behalf of the university community, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ibrahim Garba said, the vision of the university in reforming its business education would have taken a long time to be realized without the world class postgraduate structure offered by the CBN.

    The Vice Chancellor who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics, Professor Kabir Bala while expressing appreciation to the Central Bank said, the structure matches any business school complex in the world in terms of functionality as well as currency.

    In an interview with journalists shortly after the ceremony, Professor Bala said the project cost about N8 billion.

    The project comprises, a three storey Faculty Building, comprising lecture halls, auditorium, seminar rooms and literacy, two storey hostel buildings consisting single and double self-contained bedrooms, laundries, kitchen, cafeteria and lounges.