CBN Liquidates 83 Micro Finance Banks

Source: thewillnigeria.com

BEVERLY HILLS, March 04, (THEWILL) - The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has listed for liquidation 83 licensed Micro Finance Banks (MFBs).

Manager Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim made the disclosure when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency to defend NDIC's 2014 budget.

He also announced that plans were on to work out ways and means to regulate mobile banking in Nigeria.

The NDIC boss justified the liquidation of the 83 MFBs on the discovery that some of the banks exists only on paper while some are used to defraud Nigerians.

He said there are up to 900 Micro Finance Banks operation in the country out of which 83 have been listed for liquidation.

Ibrahim said NDIC is already working to determine the number of depositors and how much each deposited in the banks in order to pay them.

Some assets of the banks, according to him, will also be sold .

He added that it had become glaring that the operations of some of the MBFs have become epileptic.

The NDIC boss said that the sum of N105 billion was provided in the 2014 budget as pay-off fund in case any bank goes under.

'Funding gap is what we do to prepare for the rainy day.

We hope and pray that the rainy day does not come but any insurance should prepare for the rainy day.

As we speak, no bank benefited from the fund in 2013,' he said.

On 'dollarisation' of the economy by speculators, he said the issue was being looked into by the CBN to ensure that it does not affect the economy.

Ibrahim also told the committee that NDIC initiated rebranding operations to ensure better service.

He noted that after operating for 20 years, the corporation decided that it was time to rebrand for total reorientation.

He said that in 2013, the NDIC maintained confidence and stability of the banking system through a continuous effective supervision and regulation of the system.

He that the corporation also tried to pay depositors of institutions that had been liquidated.

'We have stepped up awareness and campaigns about our activities to make sure that members of the public put up claims of their locked up deposits in liquidated financial institutions.

We appointed some banks as agents with the assistance of our various zonal offices that we had established in various parts of the country.

'Our plan for this year is to continue to protect depositors funds and to enhance the supervision.

'To promote financial literacy, consumer protection so as to make sure we enhance financial inclusion so that millions of Nigerians that do not have access to banks for any form of financial system or outlet are assisted in various way,' he said.

On regulation of mobile banking, he said, 'We are partnering with the CBN to discuss the ways and means of assuring depositors of mobile banks and depositors of mobile phone system.

'Mobile banks are emerging and seven banks had been licensed by the CBN to get involved in mobile banking and there are 11 non-banking telecommunications related institutions that had been licensed to offer mobile money service.

' On the need to regulate mobile banking he said, 'The depositors of the institutions offering mobile banking needed to be identified and protected.

'The whole essence of this is that if we have millions of such people sending and collecting money through mobile banking system, we want to ensure that in event of any crisis, they are covered.

'Unless they have that assurance of being covered, you don't expect them to accept to participate in this revolutionary project that is coming on board.

' Ibrahim said the Commission was trying to 'educate members of the National Assembly and also engage with our bosses like the Minister of Finance to make them appreciate that generally speaking, the world over, deposit insurance agencies are exempted from certain provisions so that they can generate their refunds and grow their refunds so that in the event of any problem, those agencies should be able to meet their obligations.

' He noted that 'it is a matter of engagement and dialogue and promotion of understanding.

' On the issue of a repeal of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, he said it is not a bad idea to take a second look at it.

'We will welcome a review of the Act,' he said.
EMMA UCHE, ABUJA