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.
