Shareholders laud CBN over banks’ sanction

Investors in the Nigerian Stock Exchange has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria for barring nine Deposit Money Banks on Tuesday from the nation’s foreign exchange market for failing to remit the sum of $2.334 billion belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the Treasury Single Account.
The general secretary, Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association, Mr. Eric Akinduro, told The Point that the CBN’s decision is an indication that the apex bank is being proactive and ready to sanitise the market instead of defending the DMBs, especially when their operations contravened corporate governance, against the interest of shareholders.
“We are happy that the apex bank is taking the right steps. But it should not stop here. The management of banks that engage in any form of infraction should be made to pay fines for their actions and should not be allowed to touch the shareholders’ fund to pay such fines.
The shareholders were not carried along in their decision making. Why should they pay for errors made by the managers?” he asked. The affected DMBs are First Bank of Nigeria, $469 million; Diamond Bank Plc, $287 million; Sterling Bank Plc, $269 million; Skye Bank Plc $221 million; Fidelity Bank, $209 million; United Bank for Africa, $530 million; Keystone Bank, $139 million; First City Monument Bank, $125 million; and Heritage Bank, $85 million.
Top sources at the apex bank told The Point that the sanction would remain until the DMBs could remit the funds to the CBN. “Further disciplinary actions awaited them after remitting the funds in full to the Federal Government’s coffers,” the source disclosed.