The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has wielded the big stick against nine Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) for failing to make cash available to customers via Automated Teller Machines during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

The banks – Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Globus Bank Plc, Providus Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc – were fined N150 million each amounting to a total of N1.35 billion.

The punitive fines, to be directly debited from the banks’ accounts with the CBN, followed spot checks that revealed violation of the apex bank’s cash distribution guidelines.

The CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, who announced this in a press statement on Tuesday, restated the banking sector regulator’s commitment to ensuring seamless cash availability.

She said the fines were “a clear message of zero tolerance for cash flow disruptions”.

“The enforcement action follows repeated warnings from the CBN to financial institutions to guarantee seamless cash availability, particularly during periods of high demand,” Ali said.

Nigeria News Source recalls that the CBN had previously issued warnings to banks to comply with cash distribution policies.

In September 2024, the apex bank said as part of efforts to ensure adequate cash circulation, it would penalise banks failing to dispense cash via ATMs.

In November, at the Annual Bankers’ Dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso warned banks to strictly adhere to cash distribution policies or face severe penalties, underscoring the apex bank’s commitment to maintaining a robust cash buffer to meet Nigerians’ needs.

The CBN also urged customers to report ATM and branch cash withdrawal issues starting December 1, 2024 through designated state-specific phone numbers and email addresses.

“Ensuring seamless cash flow is paramount to maintaining public trust and economic stability,” Ali said in Tuesday’s statement.

She said the CBN’s investigations and monitoring would continue to scrutinise cash hoarding and rationing, both at bank branches and by Point-of-Sale (POS) operators, and that the apex bank was working with security agencies to crack down on illegal cash sales and operational violations, including enforcing POS operators’ daily cumulative withdrawal limit of N1.2 million.

“The CBN will not hesitate to impose further sanctions on any institution found violating its cash circulation guidelines,” she stated.