Banking
CBN set to slash debit cardholders spending abroad, and publish chronic bank debtors
ABUJA-The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday expressed deep concerns about the growing amount of Non-Performing Loans in the books of Deposit Money Banks and said it would publish the names of chronic debtors.
The Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, who stated this at a press briefing after the 321st meeting of the Bankers’ Committee in Lagos, said the central bank, in collaboration with the committee, had also decided to stop the serial debtors from buying foreign currencies at the official interbank foreign exchange market.
Also to be stopped from buying foreign currencies, according to her, are members of the board of directors of debtor companies as well as their subsidiary firms.
She recalled that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had spent a fortune to buy toxic assets from the banks’ books in the past and that it was important to stage timely interventions to forestall a repeat of past mistakes.
Martins said, “So, it was decided that going forward, one thing that we will do is to stop them (chronic debtors) from getting access to foreign exchange. Another thing that we also considered doing is to publish the names of the borrowers that refuse to pay up. This is to ensure the continuous safety and soundness of the banking industry.
“It is not all debtors, it is the bad and chronic debtors; those ones that have deliberately refused to pay; those are the ones we are talking about. Now, in the industry we have a standard, we don’t want the NPLs to be more than five per cent of the total loan in the industry.
“The total loan in the industry is in the region of N13tn to N15tn. Right now, we have not reached the upper limit of five per cent, but we don’t want to get there. That is why we decided that we need to come out with this measure. Currently, the industry average of non-performing loans is at 3.3 per cent and we don’t want to get to five per cent; that is why we came up with this measure.”
She said the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, had laboured to keep the banking industry safe and sound, and that there was a need to ensure the continued safety of the banks.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank Plc, Mr. Emeka Emuwa, said the amount spent by naira debit cardholders overseas was rising fast and the banks were beginning to notice some arbitrate in the segment.
Consequently, the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee will slash the annual allowable drawdown for each bank customer, according to him.
The current annual allowable drawdown is $150,000 per customer but Emuwa did not specify the amount it would be slashed to.
He said, “We did find that in a number of cases, people were using the cards in manners that were not expected of them and there have been some arbitraging going on. So, in order to sustain stability, what was agreed by the committee was that the limits for the use of the naira debit cards would be reduced.
“As a customer, if you have a dollar account, you will still have unfettered access to it; but for naira debit accounts, the limits will be reduced to more judicious levels. This specifically refers to the use of these banks’ products abroad, because when they are used abroad, the merchants have to be settled.
“Even if it is the Automated Teller Machines, the service provider, Visa or MasterCard has to be settled in foreign currencies and we find that it is a drain on the foreign resources available to finance our industries. So, there is going to be a reduction in the annual allowable drawdown using naira debit cards abroad.”
The Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Mrs. Bola Adesola, said the foreign exchange market was safe and sound, and was already moving towards a near convergence of rates in the various segments.
This, she said, was as a result of the positive actions taken in the past by the central bank and the committee.
“As you are all aware, in the last couple of months, several methods have been taken by the CBN and the banks to try and attain some stability in the foreign exchange market. This has been achieved because the demand for foreign currencies by businesses has been continually met. All genuine demands for foreign currencies have been met by the CBN,” Adesola said.
Plans are in top gear for the 11th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the FBN Holdings Plc.
The management made this disclosure in a notice it filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday, where it averred that it has not been served with any court order against the proposed AGM.
According to notice, which was signed by the acting Company Secretary, Adewale Arogundade, FBN Holding said, “The attention of FBN Holdings Plc (the Company) has been drawn to recent media reports purporting that the Company has received a Court Order stopping it from holding the Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for August 15, 2023.
“We confirm that this assertion is a false narrative as the Company has, as at the date hereof, not been served with any court order to stop the forthcoming AGM.
“Suffice to mention that the AGM is a statutory meeting of Shareholders that must be held in accordance with the law, further to which the Company will notify the regulators and the public as appropriate if there is any lawful order to restrain the Company from conducting same.
“We hereby assure our esteemed Shareholders that the AGM shall hold on August 15, 2023, as planned and we look forward to their attendance and active participation at the meeting.”
However, court orders published in national dailies showed that the Federal High Court in Lagos had issued an order against the financial institution, barring it from holding its 11th AGM.
The order was entered pursuant to a petition by Olusegun Onagoruwa, in suit No: FHC/L/CP/1271/2022. It was addressed to the bank and some other bank officials.
It read, “Take notice that unless you obey the directives in the judicial order contained in the order made on July 15, 2022, by the Federal High Court, Lagos, by refraining from proceeding with the 11th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Limited proposed for August 15, 2023, from seeking approval to issue or raise share capital in any manner whatsoever, from appointing or confirming the appointment of new directors, or in any other manner taking any step towards implementing, actualising enforcing resolution of the 10th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Plc held on June 20, 2022, or in any other manner overreaching, disobeying or undermining the said order of a court, you will be guilty of contempt of court and you will be liable to be committed to prison and to there imprisoned.”
Biztellers brought you a report that a segment of shareholders had staged a protest at the headquarters of the bank on Monday, calling for the AGM to be held, as well as soliciting regulatory interventions.
It is expected that at the AGM, FHN Holdings is poised to breathe life into plans to seek shareholders’ approval to raise N150bn fresh capital via a rights issue and elect new directors including billionaire, Femi Otedola and Samson Ariyibi among other resolutions.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted claims of devaluing the.
Earlier reports suggested that the CBN had devalued the Naira, lowering its exchange rate from N631 to the dollar, compared to the previous day’s rate of N461.60 at the Importers and Exporters (I&E) window.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released a statement on Thursday through its Acting Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa Abdulmumin, categorizing the report as false information.
In the statement titled ‘CBN Has Not Devalued The Naira’, he said the attention of the apex bank was drawn to the news report by an Abuja based newspaper edition of June 1, 2023, titled “CB Devalues Naira To 630/51”.
However, the CBN stated categorically that the news report was replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilizing innuendos, ‘reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.’
“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors’ & Exporters (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/USS1 and has been stable around this rate for a while.
“The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report by Daily Trust in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market,” the CBN spokesman added.
He, therefore, advised media practitioners to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.
Biztellers had earlier reported that 139 micro financial institutions, made up of 132 microfinance banks, four primary mortgage banks, and three finance companies fell under the sledgehammer of regulatory authorities with their operating licenses withdrawn.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made public the revocation in the official gazette of the Federal Government published on the apex bank’s website on Tuesday.
We now avail you of the names of the affected micro financial institutions, so that you can check if the one you have been doing business with is affected.
Governor, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, explained that the licenses were revoked in the exercise of the powers conferred on the apex bank under Section 12 of BOFIA 2020, Act No. 5.
Biztellers shares below the full list of the affected Microfinance Banks, finance companies and primary mortgage institutions:
S/No. Name Of Institution
1. ATLAS MICROFINANCE BANK
2. BLUEWHALES MICROFINANCE BANK
3. EVEREST MICROFINANCE BANK
4. IGANGAN MICROFINANCE BANK
5. MAINSAIL MICROFINANCE BANK
6. MERIT MICROFINANCE BANK
7. MINNA MICROFINANCE BANK
8. MUSHARAKA MICROFINANCE BANK
9. NOPOV MICROFINANCE BANK
10. OHON MICROFINANCE BANK
11. PREMIUM MICROFINANCE BANK
12. ROYAL MICROFINANCE BANK
13. STATESMAN MICROFINANCE BANK
14. SUISSE MICROFINANCE BANK
15. VIBRANT MICROFINANCE BANK
16. VIRTUE MICROFINANCE BANK
17. ZAMARE MICROFINANCE BANK
18. NORTH CAPITAL MICROFINANCE BANK
19. CHIDERA MICROFINANCE BANK
20. EXCELLENT MICROFINANCE BANK
21. NI’IMA MICROFINANCE BANK
22. COSMOPOLITAN MICROFINANCE BANK
23. PROGRESSIVE LINK MICROFINANCE BANK
24. TRUST ONE (FOMERLY DESMONARCHY)
25. EKUOMBE MICROFINANCE BANK
26. FIRST INDEX MICROFINANCE BANK
27. OLA MICROFINANCE BANK
28. ULI MICROFINANCE BANK
29. VERDANT MICROFINANCE BANK
30. AGULERI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
31. APEKS MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
32. FAHIMTA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
33. MANNY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
34. REALITY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
35. SURBPOLITAN MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
36. ONYX MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
37. OSINA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
38. OLOFIN-OWENA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
39. ZIKADO MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
40. PRUDENTIAL CO-OPERATIVE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
41. PENIEL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
42. TARABA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
43. BRASS MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
44. MICHIKA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
45. NDIAGU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
46. NORTHBRIDGE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
47. FCT MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
48. OMU-ARAN MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
49. CHERISH MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
50. BIPC MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
51. DANELS GLOBAL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
52. BANCORP MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
53. MANNA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
54. MONEYWISE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
55. MERCURY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
56. NEW AGE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
57. PEARL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
58. ZAWADI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
59. SEED CAPITAL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
60. EDUEK MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
61. EKSU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
62. DAKINGARI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
63. OGOJA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
64. NWABOSI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
65. NUTURE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
66. ACTIVE POINT MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
67. AMOYE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
68. BOLUWADURO MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
69. IYEDE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
70. MAYFAIR MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
71. CALABAR MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
72. IGHOMO MICROFINANCE BANK LIMTED
73. HACKMAN MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
74. IDESE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
75. BRIDGEWAY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
76. GRASSROOT MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
77. SURELIFE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
78. TIJARAH MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
79. IC-GLOBAL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
80. EJIAMATU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
81. BRIYTH COVENANT MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
82. NANKA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
83. CUB MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
84. BFL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
85. UMUNNE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
86. OROKE MICROFINANCE BANK
87. ALKALERI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
88. CROWNED EAGLE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
89. UNIFA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
90. DADINKOWA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
91. IFESOWAPO MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
92. OAF MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
93. BAMA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
94. NGALA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
95. IWOAMA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
96. KADA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
97. KEFFI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
98. NUT-ENDWELL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
99. FIRST MULTIPLE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
100. SBDC MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
101. OROS CAPITAL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
102. OZIZZA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
103. PRIMERA CREDIT MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
104. IFEANYICHUKWU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
105. IHIOMA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
106. JOSAD MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
107. AKPO MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
108. AIYEPE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
109. ABC MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
110. STAR MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
111. PURPLE MONEY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
112. UTUH MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
113. STALLION MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
114. KJL MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
115. CREDIT AFRIQUE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
116. COWRIES MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
117. LAWEBOD MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
118. MABINAS MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
119. BUSINESS SUPPORT MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
120. OGBE-AHIARA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
121. OLOFIN MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
122. OBOSI MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
123. FIYINFOLU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
124. BISHOPGATE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
125. AWKA MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
126. ZIGATE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
127. ESAN MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
128. ENUGU-UKWU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
129. ECHO MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
130. ALLY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
131. NETWORK MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
132. AWGBU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
SCHEDULE II
LIST OF FINANCE COMPANIES LICENCES REVOKED
S/No. Name Of Institution
1. HHL Invest & Trust Limited
2. TFS Finance Limited
3. Treasures & Trust Limited
SCHEDULE III
LIST OF PRIMARY MORTGAGE BANKS LICENCES REVOKED
S/No. Name Of Institution
1. RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS
2. SAFETRUST MORTGAGE BANK
3. ADAMAWA SAVINGS & LOANS
4. KOGI SAVINGS & LOANS
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