Business

Dormant Accounts: CBN Slams N2m Fine On Erring Banks

Published

3 years ago

April 14, 2023

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has slammed a minimum fine of N2 million as penalty on banks that disobey its new guidelines on the management of dormant accounts, unclaimed balances and other financial assets in financial institutions in the country.

CBN defines a dormant account as a bank account that has remained inactive for a period of at least one year. An account is classified inactive if there has been no customer or depositor-initiated transaction for a period of six months after the last customer or depositor initiated transaction.

In the guidelines announced in a circular signed by the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, CBN, Mr. Chibuzo Efobi, the apex bank added that a further daily penalty of N200,000 will be applied until full compliance.

The apex bank stated: “A contravention of any provision of the guidelines shall attract a penalty of not less than N2 million. Failure to comply with CBN’s directive in respect of any infraction shall attract a further penalty of N200,000 daily until the directive is complied with or as may be determined by CBN.”

According to CBN, the guidelines were rolled out in response to the request of banks and other stakeholders for the apex bank to further clarify the procedure for the management of dormant and inactive accounts by banks in Nigeria.

The guidelines: “The financial institution shall bear the costs of maintaining inactive and dormant accounts as well as contacting the customers; Render quarterly reports on dormant accounts in a prescribed format to Banking Supervision Department and Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, CBN; Notify account owners in writing through the agreed medium such as email, text message, and letter immediately an account becomes inactive/dormant; Reactivate dormant accounts upon request by the account owner or his/her legitimate representatives; Continue to reflect dormant account balances as deposit liabilities and such balances, where applicable, shall continue to earn interest until they are transferred to CBN.”

In its electronic fact sheet for 2021, the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, NIBSS, stated that the number of bank accounts stood at 191.4 million as at December 2021, while the number of active bank accounts were 133.5 million owned by 122.3 million active bank customers.

This indicates that 57.9 million inactive accounts were recorded during the period, VANGUARD reports.

Business

Naira Records Second Consecutive Depreciation Against US Dollar

Published

5 days ago

November 12, 2025

Editor

The Naira recorded its second consecutive depreciation against the United States dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday to continue the bearish trend this week.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the Naira further weakened on Tuesday to N1,438.71 against the dollar, down from N1,437.2933 exchanged on Monday.

This means that the Naira again dropped by N1.42 against the dollar on Tuesday on a day-to-day basis.

At the black market, the Naira remained flat at N1465 per dollar on Tuesday, the same rate traded on Monday.

This is the second consecutive decline of Nigerian currency at the official market since the commencement of this week.

Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves had continued to rise, standing at $43.37 billion as of Monday, 10th November 2025, up from $43.35 billion on November 7.

Business

Tinubu Approves 15% Import Duty On Petrol, Diesel

Published

3 weeks ago

October 30, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved a 15 percent ad-valorem import duty on diesel and premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

This was announced in a letter dated October 21, 2025, where the private secretary to the president, Damilotun Aderemi, conveyed Tinubu’s approval to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Tinubu gave his approval, following a request by the FIRS to apply the 15 percent duty on the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) to align import costs to domestic realities.

With the approval, the implementation of the import duty will increase a litre of petrol by an estimated N99.72 kobo.

The latest development has led to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) announcing that it has begun a detailed review of the country’s three petroleum refineries, with a view to bringing them back online.

NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, made the announcement in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday night.

According to Ojulari, one of the options being explored by the NNPCL is to search for technical equity partners to ‘high-grade or repurpose’ the facilities.

Tagged: “Update on Our Refineries”, Ojulari said: “The NNPCL continues to remain optimistic that the refineries will operate efficiently, despite current setbacks.”

It can be recalled that despite spending about $3 billion on revamping the refineries, only the 60,000 barrels per day portion of the facility worked skeletally for just a few months before packing up.

The Warri refinery has remained ineffective weeks after it was gleefully announced to have returned to production, while the one situated in Kaduna State never took off at all.

Business

NNPCL Raises Fuel Price

Published

1 month ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of petrol from ₦865 to ₦992 per litre, marking a fresh hike that has sparked widespread concern among motorists and consumers .

As of the time of filing this report, the company has not released any official statement explaining the reason for the sudden adjustment.

During visits to several NNPC retail outlets, The Nation observed fuel attendants recalibrating their pumps to reflect the new price.

At NNPC filling station on Ogunusi road, Ojodu Berger, petrol attendants at the station said they were instructed to change the price to reflect the new rate N992 per litre.

However, checks at Ibafo along the Lagos /Ibadan expressway showed that NNPC outlets still displayed the old price of N875 per litre, although they were not selling to commuters.

Most of the NNPC stations were not dispensing fuel.