Declare Your Assets, CBN Orders Bank Workers

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all 19 Deposit Money Banks operating in the country to declare their assets.

This order, which was contained in a letter issued by the Banking Supervision Department of the CBN about four weeks ago, demanded all the DMBs to declare their assets within one week.

As of Thursday, investigation by our correspondent revealed that all the staff members of Ecobank Nigeria, First City Monument Bank Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc had complied with the directive.

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A top official of one of the commercial 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, and houses in Nigeria and outside Nigeria etc. We were asked to also declare everything, including power generators at home through a court affidavit”

It was learnt that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission might soon begin the examination of the details of the assets declaration forms vis-à-vis the properties some top bankers own.

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. 

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“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.

“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,” the source said.

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