The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has fallen into the trap of the apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The UBA, with operational bases in 19 countries on the African continent, was penalized with a fine of N2.9 Billion, by the CBN, for what was termed, delay in the transferring of deposits of government institutions to its account with the regulator.
The bank in a statement today posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange website, said its in discussion with the central bank over the penalty management team is, has the option of paying 5% of a balance of the deposits of 58.8 billion naira as of Oct. 15 for the same penalty.
It was noted that fewer than half the deposits had been transferred to the central bank a week after President Muhammadu Buhari and central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele gave lenders until September 15 to move funds for state-owned bodies to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) at the central bank in a move designed to clamp down on corruption and financial waste in the public sector.]
UBA is the fourth major company to run foul of Nigerian regulators this week. First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., Nigeria’s largest lender by assets, was also fined by the central bank for the same offence as UBA.
South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd. is also contesting a record $5.2 billion fine imposed on its local subsidiary for failing to disconnect customers with unregistered SIM cards.
A separate financial regulator ordered the suspension of the chief executive officer and chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, the Nigerian subsidiary of Standard Bank Group Ltd., after accusing the company of posting misleading statements over two years. Stanbic denies the allegations and said that its directors remain in their jobs. [myad
