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Nigeria’s central bank, anti-graft agency to monitor banks over illicit funds during recapitalization

Published

7 months ago

March 30, 2024

Regulatory attention will be on the Nigerian banking sector during the central bank’s mandated recapitalization to prevent the influx of illicit financing into the sector.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside law enforcement agencies, will closely monitor the banking activities as revealed in a circular signed by Mr Haruna Mustafa, the Director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department at the CBN.

Commercial banks with international authorization now have to meet a minimum capital base of N500 billion, according to a statement released by the CBN on Thursday.

The recapitalization is a major increase that will make these banks more competitive in the global financial market. Regional banks have a N50 billion threshold, while national authorization-holding banks must raise their capital to N200 billion.

The top bank intends to firmly enforce its stringent anti-money laundering laws. The bank hopes to guarantee that the capital raised during the recapitalization process is free from the stain of illegality with the assistance of pertinent law enforcement agencies.

“The CBN has robust anti-money laundering regulations which will be strictly enforced, with the active collaboration of relevant law enforcement agencies.

“In addition, the CBN will require all banks to ensure that appropriate and effective anti-money laundering screening/checks (Know Your Customer, Customer Due Diligence and Suspicious Transactions Monitoring, etc) are conducted,” the circular read.

The Nigerian financial system has experienced several crises, the most significant of which occurred in 2008 and 2009. Following this, there was a programme of recapitalization and consolidation, which led to a reduction in the number of banks from roughly 90 in 2005 to 24 by 2006 and 20 commercial banks by the end of 2011.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Recapitalization

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3 years after, Nigeria’s Belemaoil restarts Oil Lease 55

Published

4 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following a three-year hiatus due to theft-related damage to the plant, Nigerian independent producer, Belemaoil Producing, has reopened operations at its oil block on Oil Mining Lease 55, the company announced on Monday.

In February 2015, Belemaoil purchased OML 55 from Chevron Corp. OML 55 is situated in a marsh to shallow water area, approximately 40 kilometres west of the Bonny oil export facility.

According to a statement by a Belemaoil representative, widespread oil theft from OML 55’s delivery line to the Bonny terminal forced the closure of the facility in 2021.

The block has five oilfields, which provide more than 70 million standard cubic feet of petrol per day and around 14,000 barrels per day, according to the business.

An official stated that the first floating oil storage vessel arrived at OML 55 on October 6th, signalling “a major milestone in the company’s efforts to restart production”.

Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, is attempting to increase its crude production, which has decreased recently as a result of widespread theft and sabotage, which drove oil majors to abandon onshore drilling in favour of deepwater production.

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Kenya permits JPMorgan Chase to open representative office

Published

5 hours ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The central bank of Kenya announced on Monday that JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) had been permitted to create a new tab and open a representative office in the East African nation.

According to a statement from the Central Bank of Kenya, representative offices of foreign banks in Kenya act as hubs for marketing and communication for their parent banks and affiliates.

The announcement further stated that the JPMorgan Chase representative office will help to diversify Kenya’s banking industry and encourage trade and investment.

In an effort by the largest United States lender to grow on the continent, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is scheduled to visit Africa in mid-October, according to a report published by Reuters last month, which cited four people with knowledge of the situation.

Within the next three years, the bank intends to renovate 1,700 existing branches and open 500 new ones. According to J.P. Morgan’s most recent financial report, as of the end of the second quarter of 2024, the bank had 4,884 branches.