According to the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria rightfully punished the banks for failing to guarantee cash availability through their automated teller machines.
This was revealed on Wednesday during an exclusive conversation with Dr. Uju Ogubunka, president of BCAN.
Nine deposit money banks were fined a total of N1.35 billion by the CBN for their failure to guarantee cash availability through automated teller machines throughout the holiday season. Following spot checks that showed non-compliance with the apex bank’s cash distribution norms, each bank was fined N150 million.
First Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Globus Bank Plc, Providus Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc are among the impacted financial institutions. The banks’ CBN accounts will be immediately debited for the penalty.
“We know that CBN was serious about what they said because the CBN governor mentioned it at the last Bankers’ Dinner; he said that they were not going to tolerate any disobedience to rules and regulations,” Ogubunka said in reference to the fines. It demonstrates their seriousness that they have sanctioned them.
Since the affected institutions were notified as early as November of last year, they are solely to responsible. They are deserving. If not, they will be subject to the subsequent round of sanctions. Perhaps they will learn their lessons.
“We are happy,” he continued. The banks should be able to deposit money into the ATMs if they have learned their lessons. Although we must be reasonable about it because the point-of-sale terminal operators are also products of CBN, this does not imply that they should not have money. Although we must oversee the system, I’m glad the CBN has begun to enforce sanctions. It is a prize for defiance.
“Did they go to the central bank and not get cash?” the former registrar of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria questioned, dismissing bankers’ complaints that they were no longer receiving enough cash. They can defend their stance if they didn’t. If the banks came for money and didn’t get it, that would be the CBN’s fault; however, if the banks used that as an excuse and it turned out that CBN had given them money at different times, the CBN would know that they were lying. Without verifying, CBN would not have penalized any institution. You cannot be punished for something you did not do.
According to reports, the sanctioned banks reportedly loaded cash into their ATMs on Wednesday.
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