The Bank Customers Association of Nigeria has expressed support for the penalties imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria on banks that failed to ensure adequate cash availability at their Automated Teller Machines.
The PUNCH reported that this follows an interview with BCAN’s president, Dr. Uju Ogubunka, on Wednesday.
CBN sanctioned nine deposit money banks, fining them a total of N1.35 billion for not meeting the cash availability requirements at their ATMs during the festive period.
Each bank was fined N150 million after spot checks revealed they were not complying with the CBN’s cash distribution guidelines.
The affected banks are Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Globus Bank Plc, Providus Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc.
The fines will be deducted directly from the banks’ CBN accounts.
In her comments, Ogubunka said, “We know that CBN was serious about what they said because, at the last Bankers’ Dinner, the CBN governor mentioned it; he said that they were not going to tolerate any disobedience to rules and regulations. That they have sanctioned them shows that they are serious. The banks that are victims have no one but themselves to blame, for they were forewarned as far as November last year. They deserve it. Maybe they will learn their lessons, and if they don’t, they will fall victim to the next round of penalties.”
She also noted, “We are happy. If the banks have learnt their lessons, they should be able to put money in the ATMs. That does not mean that the point-of-sale terminal operators should not have money, but we have to be sensible about it because they are also a creation of CBN. We have to manage the system, but I’m happy that the CBN has started to impose penalties. It is a reward for disobedience.”
Addressing claims from bankers about insufficient cash supplies, Ogubunka asked, “Did they go to the central bank and not get cash? If they didn’t, they can justify their position. The CBN would know if the banks had come for cash and didn’t get it, in which case it was not their fault, but if the banks gave that as an excuse but it was discovered that CBN had given them cash at different times, then the CBN would know that they were telling lies. CBN would not have penalised any institution without verifying. They cannot penalise you for what you didn’t do.”
In a related development, reports suggested that the penalized banks loaded their ATMs with cash on Wednesday.
