to sanction directors of delinquent debtor firms
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in agreement with the Bankers Committee at the weekend, put on hold the rollout of cashless policy exercise nationwide.
This is against the background of the plan to embark on infrastructural development in other states, such that when it is rolled out, it will be without challenge to customers and to the banking public generally.
Currently, cashless Nigeria is running in five states and the federal capital territory. The states are Lagos, Ogun, Anambra, Rivers, Kano and Abuja.
“Apart from cash, the banking sector has invested a lot of money in building infrastructure to enhance safe transactions on e-payment platform. For instance, we have the mobile payment and it is working efficiently within and outside the country.
“We encourage all the customers to migrate a whole lot of their transactions to these platform because it guarantees safety of money,” Segun Oloketuyi, managing director/CEO, Wema Bank plc, said while addressing the media after the Bankers Committee meeting in Lagos.
Others who addressed the media after the meeting include Segun Agbaje, managing director/CEO, GTBank plc, Mary Akpobema, managing director, Enterprise Bank Limited, and Ibrahim, Mu’azu, director, corporate communication, CBN.
Agbaje, who addressed the issue on domiciliary account as discussed by the committee, said the operation of domiciliary account still remain the same where a customer had vested access to his money.
“It means you can transfers money to and out of your domiciliary account without any restrictions. The only thing that is changed on domiciliary account is payment of cash dollar into your domiciliary account. Every other thing remains the same in terms of operation of domiciliary account,” he said.
The committee also discussed issues bothering on delinquent debtors, saying they have been receiving responses as they expect. They also agreed to follow up with sanctions to be meted on the directors of the firms that were published as delinquent debtors.
Tokunbo Martins, director, banking supervision, who was represented by Kolawole Balogun of the CBN, said the publication was not at the instance of the CBN, but of the Bankers Committee.
“Members agree that one way of ensuring delinquent loans are reduced in the financial system is to embark on name and shame strategy. It does not end there; there are sanctions that we are going to follow up on the directors of the companies owing this debt. These are market sanctions to ensure that their outstanding obligations are reduced,” he said.
