Panic Spreads As CBN Orders Bank Workers To Declare Assets

The Central Bank of Nigeria issued a directive ordering bank workers in all the 19 Deposit Money Banks operating in the country to declare their assets.

The order handed down by the CBN according to analysts points that the Federal Government is branching out into financial institutions and private bodies in its heightened fight against corruption and corrupt practices in the country.

The directive is contained in a letter issued by the Apex bank through the Banking Supervision Department of the CBN.

According to Punch, the directive issued about four weeks ago has been met by all staff members of Ecobank Nigeria, First City Monument Bank Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc.

A top official of one of the tier-1 banks who spoke on condition of anonymity while narrating his experience said, “All our staff members, from the most junior to the most senior, were asked to declare their assets through a court affidavit. It was handled by the company’s lawyer.

“We were asked to declare all our assets, including developed and undeveloped parcels of land, properties, houses in Nigeria and outside Nigeria etc. We were asked to also declare everything, including power generators at home. We complied within one week.”

Speaking on the directive which has reportedly caused panic among top executives of financial institutions living beyond their means and its connection to the anti-corruption crusade in the country, an executive director in one of the top three banks said: “It is part of the ongoing anti-corruption crusade in the country. The Federal Government is trying to deepen the anti-corruption war in the private sector, and it is believed that the banking sector is a very critical sector. This is why the CBN has been mandated to do this.”

A top official of the CBN who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that the CBN’s move was in line with a letter issued to it by the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB.

“The directive is from the Code of Conduct Bureau. It is an extant rule. Before now, most people have not been complying. So the CCB wrote a letter to the CBN reminding it about it. This is why the CBN had to write the banks to comply”.