The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the June 30 deadline earlier given to banks to remove their automated teller machines (ATMs) in public and unauthorised places. The extension, which is by two months now gives the banks up to August 31, 2009 to comply.
According to the directive contained in a circular to all deposit money banks, dated June 26, 2009 referenced BOD/DIR/GEN/SMP/03/025 and signed by CBN’s Director of Banking Operations, James Olekah, the apex bank has commenced the processes for registering and establishing two ATM consortia that will be responsible for deploying ATMs in public and related places across the country, before the expiration of the deadline given to the banks.
It stated in the directive: “Deployment of Deposit Money Banks Offsite ATMs and Establishment of ATM Consortium” that it took the initiative to establish the consortia following its observation that the banks were making little efforts in that direction.
“The central bank of Nigeria has observed that there is little effort by deposit money banks to comply with the directive to establish two ATM consortia. Consequently, the bank has decided to place an advertisement in some national newspapers outlining the procedure for registering and establishing ATM consortium.
“In the meantime, we hereby extend the deadline for the removal of deposit money banks ATMs in public places by two months from the earlier date, June 30, 2009. In other words, the new deadline is now August 31, 2009” the circular stated.
In the earlier circular to the deposit money banks on April 7, this year, the apex bank had noted that the directive was among other factors to curtail the competition by banks for public space and also maintain sanity in the deployments. The CBN recalled that the ATM Consortium was mandated at the onset to solely deploy ATMs in public places, while banks were authorised to limit theirs to their premises.
THISDAY gathered that the banks had taken their case to the former CBN Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo for the status quo to remain. The banks insisted that enhanced ATM spread for the purpose of promoting customer satisfaction should be the desired thing for the country at present.
Sources said it was because of the position held by the banks that they were reluctant to facilitate the establishment of the ATM consortia, as required by the CBN.
The President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and also Chief Executive of Intercontinental Bank, Dr Erastus Akingbola, had told journalists at a briefing last June that even though it might not be good for about 10 banks to cluster ATMs in one space, the CIBN will also not want the monopolisation of space by a single bank.
Akingbola had expressed confidence that the grey areas in the directive would be resolved before the June 30 deadline. With the current CBN position, the regulator might have taken a tough stand against the banks.
(Source:BusinessDay)
