{"id":6441,"date":"2025-04-04T22:08:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T21:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/?p=6441"},"modified":"2025-10-03T22:36:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T21:36:51","slug":"cbn-fines-nigerian-banks-forex-violations-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/cbn-fines-nigerian-banks-forex-violations-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"CBN Fines Top Nigerian Banks \u20a616.45bn Over FX and Compliance Breaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed fines worth <strong>\u20a616.45 billion<\/strong> on Zenith Bank and several other lenders in 2024 for multiple foreign exchange (FX) and compliance violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zenith Bank<\/strong> carried the heaviest penalty, paying <strong>\u20a615.43 billion<\/strong>, including <strong>\u20a614.65 billion<\/strong> for FX-related infractions uncovered during regulatory examinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other banks also faced significant fines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Stanbic IBTC:<\/strong> \u20a6579 million<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fidelity Bank:<\/strong> \u20a671.28 million<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wema Bank:<\/strong> \u20a62 million<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>GTCO:<\/strong> \u20a6383 million<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stanbic IBTC\u2019s Penalties<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Stanbic IBTC\u2019s fines covered a range of issues, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u20a6104m for failing to file suspicious transaction reports and inadequate customer due diligence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u20a6176m for not complying with a directive to repay three customers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u20a644m linked to infractions from earlier CBN risk assessments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u20a6162m for weak due diligence on high-risk customers and gaps in its politically exposed persons (PEP) database.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fidelity and Wema Bank<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Fidelity Bank was fined <strong>\u20a671.28 million<\/strong>, including <strong>\u20a624 million<\/strong> for anti-money laundering and terrorism financing lapses.<br>Wema Bank faced a much smaller fine of <strong>\u20a62 million<\/strong> for breaching net open position limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">GTCO\u2019s Case<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) paid <strong>\u20a6383 million<\/strong> in fines, linked to consumer protection violations, non-compliance on reporting, and findings from a 2024 CBN \u201cmystery shopping\u201d exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CBN\u2019s Tougher Stance Under Cardoso<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At the start of 2025, CBN Governor <strong>Olayemi Cardoso<\/strong> warned banks that violations of the newly introduced <strong>Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code<\/strong> would attract \u201csevere sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unveiled in Abuja, the FX Code is designed to restore <strong>trust and transparency<\/strong> in Nigeria\u2019s FX market. Built on six principles\u2014<strong>Ethics, Governance, Execution, Information Sharing, Risk Management &amp; Compliance, and Confirmation &amp; Settlement<\/strong>\u2014the code aligns with international standards but also addresses Nigeria\u2019s unique challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"related-sec related-2 is-width-wide is-style-border\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"inner block-list-small-2\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"block-h heading-layout-10\"><div class=\"heading-inner\"><h4 class=\"heading-title none-toc\"><span>More Read<\/span><\/h4><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"block-inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"p-wrap p-small p-list-small-2\" data-pid=\"4907\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"feat-holder\">\t\t<div class=\"p-featured ratio-v1\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"p-flink\" href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/labour-blackout-when-ai-finally-take-our-jobs-we-will-go-home-and-watch-the-world-change\/\" title=\"Labour Blackout: When AI finally Take Our Jobs, We Will Go Home And Watch The World Change.\">\r\n\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/When-AI-finally-takes-our-jobs-150x150.webp\" class=\"featured-img wp-post-image\" alt=\"When AI finally takes our jobs\" title=\"\">\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"p-content\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title h4 none-toc\">\t\t<a class=\"p-url\" href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/labour-blackout-when-ai-finally-take-our-jobs-we-will-go-home-and-watch-the-world-change\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Labour Blackout: When AI finally Take Our Jobs, We Will Go Home And Watch The World Change.<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t<div class=\"p-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meta-inner is-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"meta-el meta-update\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2025-01-26T22:34:28+00:00\">janvier 26, 2025<\/time>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Cardoso made it clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe era of opaque practices is over. We will not hesitate to act against any institution or individual that undermines the integrity of our financial markets.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The CBN Act of 2007 and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act of 2020 give the regulator legal backing to enforce these rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FX Reserves Recover Strongly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Nigeria\u2019s net FX reserves rose to <strong>$23.11 billion at the end of 2024<\/strong>, the highest level in more than three years. This marked a sharp rebound from <strong>$3.99bn in 2023<\/strong>, <strong>$8.19bn in 2022<\/strong>, and <strong>$14.59bn in 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CBN attributed the increase to stronger enforcement and tighter FX market oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Banks Enjoy Windfall From Government Securities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While dealing with fines, Nigeria\u2019s biggest banks made record earnings from <strong>treasury bills and government bonds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024, Zenith Bank, First Bank HoldCo, GTCO, UBA, and Access Bank earned a combined <strong>\u20a64.43 trillion<\/strong> from treasury assets, up <strong>150%<\/strong> from <strong>\u20a61.77 trillion in 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Analysts say this reflects both higher yields and increased bank investment in risk-free government securities amid economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Lagos-based analyst <strong>Abiola Rasaq<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe growth in treasury income shows how banks shifted more of their balance sheets into risk-free assets given the elevated yield environment and regulatory capital raises.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inflation and Interest Rates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite raising rates six times in 2024, the CBN kept its benchmark interest rate steady at <strong>27.5%<\/strong> in early 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move followed signs of stability in the FX market and a significant drop in inflation, which fell to <strong>24.48% in January 2025<\/strong>, down from <strong>34.8% in December 2024<\/strong>, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed fines worth \u20a616.45 billion on Zenith Bank and several other lenders in 2024 for multiple foreign exchange (FX) and compliance violations. Zenith Bank carried the heaviest penalty, paying \u20a615.43 billion, including \u20a614.65 billion for FX-related infractions uncovered during regulatory examinations. Other banks also faced significant fines: Stanbic IBTC\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[519,1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[331],"class_list":{"0":"post-6441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-banking","8":"category-uncategorized"},"authors":[{"term_id":331,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"pastakutmanwen","display_name":"Villpress Insider","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Logo.png","url2x":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Logo.png"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6441"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6450,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6441\/revisions\/6450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6441"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=6441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}