The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have imposed fines totalling N1.502 billion on 10 banks for violations of foreign exchange guidelines and other regulatory offences within the first six months of 2024.
The penalised banks include First City Monument Bank, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Zenith, United Bank of Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Sterling Bank, Fidelity, First Bank and VFD Bank.
Details of the fines were contained in the respective bank’s financial statement for the period ending June 30, 2024, and filed with the Nigeria Exchange.
The report showed that Zenith Bank paid the highest fine of N427 million within the review period, followed by Access Bank with a payment of N300 million, UBA with N279 million and Stanbic Bank with N229 million.
Others are GTB N188 million; Fidelity N30.11 million; FCMB N24.15 million; Sterling N9 million; First Bank N8 million; and VFD N8.1 million.
The CBN had recently said it was committed to the stability of the country’s financial system, highlighting that regular stress tests are conducted to identify potential vulnerabilities in banks.
The CBN said the stress tests are an integral part of its strategy to safeguard the financial system and protect depositors’ funds, adding that the tests help the apex bank detect and address emerging risks before they impact the stability of the sector.
