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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has escalated its vigilant oversight of banks to identify any infractions and ensure adherence to existing regulations, particularly in light of concerns regarding potential involvement in financial crimes.
Recent attention has been intensified amidst revelations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which highlighted a substantial proportion of financial crimes in the country being linked to the banking sector. To address this, the CBN has revamped its surveillance techniques, focusing extensively on examining banks’ financial statements and audit reports.
Insiders within the financial industry reveal that the CBN has implemented meticulous scrutiny of each financial report at various levels. Delays in the submission of audited reports and accounts by several banks for the preceding year are attributed to the thorough examination of their financial statements.
Although banks have obtained approval for their audited results and submitted them to the CBN for review and final endorsement since January 2024, they are still awaiting the apex bank’s conclusive approval.
Moreover, banks are strictly prohibited from publicly disclosing their audited reports and accounts without prior and definitive approval from the CBN. Consequently, the delay in releasing these results has rendered banks non-compliant with corporate governance regulations at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), where many banks are listed.
In response to inquiries regarding the delay in submitting their banks’ results, spokespeople for two major banks, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated that they are awaiting the apex bank’s approvals before proceeding with public disclosure.
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