The Central Bank of Nigeria has re-instated all the banks that were banned from the foreign exchange market.
Announcing the reinstatement of the banks in Abuja on Wednesday, CBN’s director, banking supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins who announced this on Wednesday said the body of bank chief executive officers, under the auspices of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), met with the Committee of Governors of the CBN and presented a payment plan for all outstanding United States Dollars deposits from the NNPC/NNLG in their possession to the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The affected banks are First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) $469 million; Diamond Bank Plc ($287 million); Sterling Bank Plc ($269 million); Skye Bank Plc ($221 million); Fidelity Bank ($209 million); Keystone Bank ($139 million); First City Monument Bank (FCMB) $125 million and Heritage Bank ($85 million).
“Well, we have had engagements with the body of chief executive officers and they have been interacting amongst themselves and I am happy to tell you today that the banks that were hitherto banned have been released from the ban.
“And the reason is because all of the banks after discussions and engagements under the auspices of the body of chief executive officers and the CIBN have all submitted credible repayment plans which we the CBN found acceptable.
“So as a result of that, all those banks have been re-instated in the foreign exchange market,” she said.
The CIBN President, Prof. Segun Ajibola, said that the institute was very much interested in what was happening among all the industry players.
He added that under the aegis of the institute, the body of bank chief executive officers was now a formidable platform to look at issues that were pertinent to the industry and the economy, to ensure that stakeholders’ interest was protected.
“We will protect the interests of all our stakeholders and especially the bigger picture, which is Nigeria and its economy as a whole.
“So it is a happy development and I believe this will further help to strengthen our system and our economy.”
The managing director of Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, said that the body of bank chief executive officers under the under the auspices of the CIBN, aims to get banks to work together.
He said that this would ensure that anytime there was a serious issue in the market, bank chief executive officers could meet to look for a way to resolve them.
The CBN had on Tuesday banned nine Deposit Money Banks from the nation’s foreign exchange market for failing to remit the sum of 2.3 billion dollars belonging to NNPC to the Treasury Single Account.
Source: NAN
