Posted by The PM News on
The Action Congress (AC) has called on the National Assembly, the EFCC and all those concerned to move fast to investigate the operations of banks in the country, saying unless this is done, the banks will frustrate efforts to grow the Nigerian economy and the plan to place the country among the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.
The Action Congress (AC) has called on the National Assembly, the EFCC and all those concerned to move fast to investigate the operations of banks in the country, saying unless this is done, the banks will frustrate efforts to grow the Nigerian economy and the plan to place the country among the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.
In a statement issued in Abuja, today, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party accused the banks of fleecing account holders of their hard-earned money through illegal charges, as well as milking and frustrating individual and corporate borrowers through hidden charges and impossible lending terms.
Also, the banks are said to have failed to remit to the federal government billions of naira in VAT and other taxes, thus frustrating efforts to lift the living standards of the citizens. AC said the recent downturn in the Nigerian capital market has also been blamed by many observers partly on ‘insider trading' involving some of the banks.
'There is an urgent need to move to check the banks' greed because banks are supposed to help grow the economy by lifting the real sector, which is the main engine of growth.
'But while banks are declaring fat profits, paying obscene salaries and winning spurious awards all over the place, the real sector is dying…and with it, the dream of growing the economy, creating jobs and propelling Nigeria to become one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2020.
'This is why it is imperative for the National Assembly, as true representatives of the people, to move beyond pecuniary considerations and launch an investigation into the activities of the banks. If an investigation has been carried out, the report should be released for all to see and necessary actions taken.
'Also, it is well within the purview of the EFCC to investigate the banks and slam on them appropriate sanctions, including prosecution, if they are found to have indeed engaged in illegal dealings,' the party said.
It said a good starting point would be for the National Assembly to scrutinize the petition sent to it by a group of Forensic Accountants under the aegis of Forensic Consulting, who have detailed how banks virtually suck the blood of their hapless customers.
According to the petition by Forensic Consulting, as reported in the media, there is the need to put in place the necessary legislation to fight the illegal charges, so that Nigerians can have a legal recourse when they are fleeced by their bankers.
Among the bank 24 charges that must be questioned are processing fee, returned cheque fee, facility approval fee, renegotiation fee, management fee, commission on turnover (COT), above-the-limit charges, overdraft charges, maintenance charges, earned fees, COT shortfall fee, default charges, penal fee, Corporate Affairs Commission fee, overdrawn balance charges and clearing charges
'Most of the charges are illegal and fall outside those stipulated in the Banker's Guide. They are also the sources of the massive profits declared by the banks annually, even when they have done nothing to help grow the economy and create jobs.
'For example, if a bank has 1 million current account holders and charges each of them 1,000 naira as maintenance fees at the end of the month, that translates to 1 billion naira in a month and 12 billion naira in a year! Little wonder, then, these wonder banks are declaring huge profits amidst widespread poverty in the land,' AC said.
The party accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of shirking its regulatory duties by turning a blind eye on the illegal activities of the banks, thereby tacitly encouraging them to sap customers and help kill the real sector.
'May be the time is ripe to strip the CBN of its regulatory powers and set up another body to regulate the banks. This is part of what we expect the National Assembly to consider in their investigation of the banks' operations. 'Needless to say that we have nothing against the banks beyond their crooked operations. Our main concern is the interest of the Nigerian people,' the party said.