CBN urges Nigerians to ignore reports on banks failing CAR stress test

.Suspends processing fees on large cash deposits

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says media reports listing banks as failing the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stress test for international authorisation are false and should be disregarded.

CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, stated this in a statement posted on the CBN official website on Monday.

The statement assured the public and stakeholders about the continued stability and resilience of the Nigerian banking industry.

It urged Nigerians to always rely on official channels for information and avoid speculation based on unverified sources.

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to reports in some media outlets suggesting that some licensed commercial banks in the country had failed the CBN’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) for international authorisation.

“We wish to clarify that the Nigerian banking industry remains resilient as key financial soundness indicators were within the regulatory thresholds as captured in the CBN’s most recent Economic Report of 2023.

“Furthermore, the CBN is engaging with various critical stakeholders to sustain the level of confidence in the Nigerian financial sector.

“We, therefore, appeal to Nigerians to disregard the media reports listing banks as failing the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stress test for international authorisation as the report did not emanate from the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the statement said.

The Capital Adequacy Ratio is a key financial metric used to assess the financial health and stability of banks.

It measures the amount of capital a bank holds relative to its risk-weighted assets, indicating its ability to absorb losses and continue operating during challenging economic conditions.

.AS CBN suspends processing fees on large cash deposits

The Central Bank of Nigeria has suspended the processing fees on large cash deposits, a release by the Acting Director of Supervision, Dr Adetona Adedeji, on Monday revealed.

The new development under the “Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial Institutions, and Non-Bank Financial Institutions” issued on December 20, 2019, with reference number (FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/07/042), affects deposits above N500,000 for individual accounts and N3,000,000 for corporate accounts.

The suspension shall remain in effect until April 30, 2024, CBN said.

The CBN had in 2019  declared that it would begin to levy bank customers making cash deposits and withdrawals as part of its efforts to reduce cash in use.

The CBN also made known that for corporate accounts, the Deposits Money Banks would charge five per cent processing fees for withdrawals and three per cent processing fees for lodgments of amounts above N3,000,000.

“Consequently all financial institutions regulated by the CBN should accept all cash deposits from the public without any charges going forward’

“Please be guided accordingly,” the apex bank said.