Nine Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria are sitting on approximately N531.4 billion of unused Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention funds, according to investigations by SAVING POINT MEDIA.
This revelation comes following the suspension of all CBN intervention funds by the current CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who aims to steer the apex bank back to its primary focus.
Last October, upon assuming office, Cardoso halted all development finance interventions, citing a need to clarify the boundaries between monetary policy and fiscal intervention.
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Under the previous administration led by Godwin Emefiele, the CBN had initiated numerous intervention programs, including the Anchor Borrowers Programme, the 100-for-100 Policy on Production and Productivity, and the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility, among others.
Reportedly, over N9.71 trillion was disbursed in development finance interventions during this period.
Cardoso emphasized the importance of redirecting the CBN’s efforts towards advisory roles that support economic growth rather than direct finance interventions.
These advisory roles would involve catalyzing specialized institutions and financial products, facilitating new regulatory frameworks, and promoting financial inclusion and private sector investment in various sectors.
Despite these changes, recent findings indicate that nine banks still hold significant amounts of unused intervention funds.
Zenith Bank tops the list with N157.81 billion, followed by Fidelity Bank with N98.85 billion, and Access Bank with N94.63 billion.
Other banks with substantial unused funds include Sterling Bank, GTB, UBA, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC, and Wema Bank.
Efforts to recover these unused funds are underway, with a committee tasked with overseeing the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
However, it remains unclear if the CBN will allow banks to complete the disbursement of these funds.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending are taking steps to recover outstanding debts from defaulters of the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme, which saw over N1 trillion disbursed, with only 30% recovered so far.
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