Expert urges banks to initiate customer-friendly programmes to boost sector

Tue, Mar 20, 2018 | By publisher


Business

A financial expert, Dr Samuel Nzekwe, has advised banks in the country to initiate customer-friendly packages to encourage and shore up level of customers’ patronage of the financial sector.

Nzekwe, a former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun.

He said the advice became imperative following the recent statistics, which showed a decline in banks’ customer patronage from 65 million in 2016 to 63 million in 2017.

NAN recalls that the Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) had on Monday reported that the total number of customers’ accounts dropped from 61 million in 2016, to 59 million in 2017.

The former ANAN president noted that the number of bank customers dropped due to the harsh economic situation, which had forced many people with multiple accounts to close some of the accounts.

Nzekwe, however, noted that the situation was not the best for the nation’s economy, saying that even the banks had not helped matters, especially with its draconian conditions to access loan.

“Banks in the country should initiate customer-friendly programmes that will remove all forms of hurdles in accessing loans in the sector.

“A lot of people are outside the banking net because most of the banks had failed in performing its financial intermediation role as well as given incentives to customers.’’

Nzekwe explained that the cost of borrowing and the cost of charges on loans were very high, which he said could discourage both old and new customers to the banking sector.

According to him, there are times that money is not even available when customers need them.

He said that it was a misnomer for Nigerian banks to charge monthly fees on customers’ accounts instead of paying interest on money kept at its custody.

Nzekwe said that the micro finance Banks had rather performed better in the area of providing loans to customers as well as monitoring them.

He, however, advised the Central of Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen its monitoring and enforcement unit to be able to check excesses of banks as well as attract new customers into the financial sector. (NAN)

– Mar. 20, 2018 @ 12:46 GMT |

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