The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sanctioned nine Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) N1.35 billion for failing to make Naira notes available through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) during the yuletide season.

They 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.

Each of them was fined N150 million for non-compliance in line with the CBN’s cash distribution guidelines, following spot checks on their branches.

Recently, Point-of-Sale (POS) operators had complained that the unavailability of cash from banks over the counter and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) had disrupted their business.

The situation had forced them to resort to buying money from market sellers and petrol station attendants to have sufficient cash to do their business as banks pegged daily withdrawal at N5,000.

Most of the POS operators had said they paid between N1, 000 to N2,000 to buy cash ranging from N100,000-N200,000 from market sellers or petrol stations; a situation that made them imposed over 100  per cent increase in charges on customers.

There had also been series of complaints by customers that commercial banks also limited cash withdrawal on ATMs to N20,000 for multiple account holders.

In Abuja, people pay up to N800 to get N20, 000 cash from POS operators.

The situation is worse in towns and villages in far North where access to banking services is limited.

Vice President Kashim Shettima had on December 6, 2024, while addressing the Bankers Committee 2024 Annual Retreat in Abuja, directed the CBN and commercial banks to swiftly resolve issues of cash scarcity and arbitrary charges by PoS operators.

Similarly, the House of Representatives had on December 11, 2024, expressed concern over the cash crunch and urged the CBN to address it, saying the situation had impeded economic activities and imposed significant hardship on Nigerians.

 

The apex bank had also repeatedly

Warned financial institutions to guarantee seamless cash availability, particularly during periods of high demand.

The big stick

In a statement last night, the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, said communication with the banks indicated that the fines would be debited directly from their accounts with the apex bank.

She said the CBN would not hesitate to impose further sanctions on any institution found violating its cash circulation guidelines.

She said the apex bank’s investigations and monitoring would continue to scrutinise cash hoarding and rationing, both at bank branches and by PoS operators.

She said the CBN was working with security agencies to crack down on illegal cash sales and operational violations, including enforcing POS operators’ daily cumulative withdrawal limit of N1.2 million.

The CBN’s governor, Olayemi Cardoso, in his address at the Annual Bankers’ Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in November 2024, had warned banks to strictly adhere to cash distribution policies or face severe penalties.

He had underscored the CBN’s commitment to maintaining a robust cash buffer to meet Nigerians’ needs.