Nigeria’s apex regulatory bank, The Central Bank of Nigeria or CBN revoked the licences of 139 microfinance banks operating in the country.
The CBN also revoked the licences of four primary mortgage banks and three finance companies.
This was disclosed in the official gazette of the Federal Government, which was published on the website of the CBN on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.
According to the Gazette, the operating licences were revoked for various reasons including the fact that the businesses moved away from operating the specific type of business they were licenced for and non-operation continuously for a period of six months.
The CBN said that the banks “failed to fulfil or adhere to the terms and conditions with which their license was granted; or refused to comply with the duties placed on them by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the provisions of the other Financial Institutions Act ( BOFIA) 2020, Act No.5.”
The four primary mortgage banks whose licenses were revoked are Resort Savings & Loans, Safetrust Mortgage Bank, Adamawa Savings & Loans, and Kogi Savings & Loans.
The Finance companies whose licenses were revoked include HHL Invest & Trust Limited, TFS Finance Limited and Treasures & Trust Limited.
Meanwhile, some of the microfinance banks listed include Bluewhales Microfinance Bank, Igangan Microfinance Bank, Mainsail Microfinance Bank, Everest Microfinance Bank, Merit Microfinance Bank, Musharaka Microfinance Bank, Nopov Microfinance Bank, among others.
Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN) has revoked the licenses of 139 microfinance banks, four primary mortgage banks, and three finance companies. The decision, disclosed in an official gazette published on the CBN’s website on May 23, 2023, cited reasons such as deviation from their licensed business operations and non-activity for six months. The banks were also found to have failed to meet the conditions set by the Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No.5. The affected primary mortgage banks include Resort Savings & Loans, Safetrust Mortgage Bank, Adamawa Savings & Loans, and Kogi Savings & Loans. Among the finance companies are HHL Invest & Trust Limited, TFS Finance Limited, and Treasures & Trust Limited, and notable microfinance banks such as Bluewhales Microfinance Bank and Igangan Microfinance Bank.
