The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made it clear that the Nigerian banking industry is sound, strong and resilient and that it has no problem of any kind with the banks.
In a statement today, December 11, the apex bank Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, stressed that banks are meeting up with the different regulatory requirements.
She stressed: “CBN assures that Nigerian Banks remain resilient,” debunking some media reports which floated the story that some Nigerian banks had failed the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stress test for international authorisation should be ignored.
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to reports in some media outlets suggesting that some licensed commercial banks in the country had failed the CBN’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) for international authorisation. We wish to clarify that the Nigerian banking industry remains resilient as key financial soundness indicators were within the regulatory thresholds as captured in the CBN’s most recent Economic Report of 2023 Furthermore, the CBN is engaging with various critical stakeholders to sustain the level of confidence in the Nigerian financial sector.
“We, therefore, appeal to Nigerians to disregard the media reports listing banks as failing the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stress test for international authorisation as the report did note emanate from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
This came even as the apex bank issued a new directive to all banks, other financial institutions and non-bank financial institutions, suspending the processing charges previously imposed on large cash deposits.
This change, referenced under the “Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial Institutions, and Non-Bank Financial Institutions” dated December 20, 2019 (FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/07/042), affects deposits over N500,000 for individual accounts and N3,000,000 for corporate accounts.
Previously, these deposits attracted processing fees of 2% and 3%, respectively. Effective immediately, the CBN has put a hold on these charges. This suspension is a significant shift in policy and will remain in effect until the end of April 2024. The move is seen as a response to the evolving financial landscape and the needs of depositors across Nigeria.
The directive mandates all financial institutions regulated by the CBN to comply by not imposing any charges on cash deposits that meet or exceed these thresholds. This development is expected to encourage more significant cash deposits, enhance liquidity, and possibly impact various sectors positively, including small and large businesses.
