No Nonsense CBN Bars Nine Banks from All Forex Transactions for Not Returning $2.334bn NNPC Funds

Determined not to tolerate any further breach of extant financial regulations, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred nine banks from all foreign exchange transactions.

The banks, THISDAY exclusively gathered this afternoon, were barred for failing to remit the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) dollar funds to the federal government’s Treasury Single Account domiciled in the CBN as directed by the presidency last year.

The banks, whose suspension would remain in force until they remit all the funds to the TSA are United Bank for Africa (UBA) $530m; First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) $469m; Diamond Bank Plc ($287m); Sterling Bank Plc ($269m); Sky Bank Plc ($221m); Fidelity Bank ($209m); Keystone Bank ($139); First City Monument Bank (FCMB) $125m; and Heritage Bank ($85m).

The CBN sources told THISDAY that further disciplinary actions awaited the erring banks after remitting the funds in full to the government’s coffers.