Nath Ude led NOVA Merchant Bank in big mess

Phillips Oduoza’s NOVA Merchant Bank has been slapped N1.5 billion fine by the CBN for failure to deliver its 27.5 percent Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) commitment.

The CRR law allows the Central Bank to retain up to 27.5 percent of commercial banks’ customer deposits, preventing them from accessing the funds.

In April 2021, the Cash Reserve Ratio was established at 27.5 percent.

The new debit, which was confirmed happened last Friday, has enraged many financial stakeholders, as the apex bank had ceased debiting banks for failing to satisfy the threshold.

Aside the Nath Ude led NOVA Merchant Bank other top banks debited by CBN are Zenith Bank and Providus, who were debited N170 billion, N40 billion respectively.

Others are: FCMB N39 billion, First Bank of Nigeria Limited N27 billion, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc N20 billion and Citibank N12 billion.

It was reported that Stanbic IBTC bank, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Polaris Banks were debited N10 billion each, Keystone Bank was debited N6 billion, Ecobank Nigeria N5 billion, Sterling Bank Plc, N3.6 billion and Fidelity Bank N2 billion.