The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday revoked the operating licenses of 179 microfinance banks in the country.
This was disclosed in the official gazette of the Federal Government, which was published on the website of the CBN on Tuesday.
The gazette stated that the licenses of the financial
institutions were revoked because they ceased to carry on in Nigeria, the type
of business for which their licences were issued for a continuous period of six
months.
The banks also failed to fulfil or comply with the
conditions subject to which their licences were granted; or failed to comply
with the obligations imposed upon them by the Central Bank of Nigeria in
accordance with the provisions of Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act
(BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, according to the
document revoked the licenses in the exercise of the powers conferred on the
Central Bank of Nigeria under Section 12 of BOFIA 2020, Act No. 5.
The microfinance banks include – Atlas Microfinance
Bank, Bluewhales Microfinance Bank, Everest Microfinance Bank, Igangan
Microfinance Bank, Mainsail Microfinance Bank, Merit Microfinance Bank, Minna
Microfinance Bank, Musharaka Microfinance Bank, Nopov Microfinance Bank, Ohon
Microfinance Bank, and others.
Finance companies whose licenses were revoked include
– HHL Invest & Trust Limited, TFS Finance Limited and Treasures & Trust
Limited while the four primary mortgage banks whose licenses were revoked are –
Resort Savings & Loans, Safetrust Mortgage Bank, Adamawa Savings &
Loans and Kogi Savings & Loans.
Meanwhile, following the revocation of licenses of 179
Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and four Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) by the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has
assured depositors of the closed banks speedy payment of their insured sums.
The NDIC Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Bello
Hassan gave this assurance in a statement which followed the revocation of the
licenses of the affected MFBs and PMBs by the Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin
Emefiele, CON.
Hassan said, as deposit insurer, the NDIC would begin
the process of payment of the insured sums immediately with the verification of
eligible depositors at the respective premises of the closed banks.
He enjoined such depositors to get the required
documents for the exercise such as proof of account ownership, verifiable means
of identification and alternate bank account to facilitate their seamless
verification and payment of their insured deposits.
The NDIC Boss stated that the insured deposit is the
first claim that the Corporation pays to depositors upon revocation of bank’s
license by the CBN, adding that the maximum specified limits for the MFB and
PMB sub-sectors are N200,000.00 and N500,000.00 per depositor per bank,
respectively.
As liquidator, the MD disclosed that the Corporation
has also put machinery in motion to commence sales of assets of the defunct
banks as well as recover debts owed to them in order to declare liquidation dividends
on pro -rata basis to the affected depositors with claims exceeding the maximum
insured sums of N200,000.00 for MFBs and N500,000.00 for PMBs.
He assured that regulatory authorities are leaving no
stone unturned to ensure that the soundness of the banking system is not
compromised, stressing that there is no need for the public to panic over the
safety of their bank deposits.
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