The Senate on Wednesday mandated its Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions to investigate the alleged illicit and excess bank charges by commercial banks operating in the country.
The upper chamber urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to look into the complaints of Nigerians in that regard with a view to reviewing downward all charges on their bank accounts.
The resolutions were reached following the consideration of a motion sponsored by Senator Patrick Abba Moro, a former Minister of Interior.
The lawmaker noted the Senate became concerned following several complaints from Nigerians over illicit and excessive charges by Nigerian Commercial Banks on customers’ accounts.
Moro said such charges and deductions range from bank SMS charges, intra-bank transfer charges in the sum of N52.59 Kobo, ATM Card renewal charges, and account maintenance charges in the sum of N93.13 kobo.
He said, “These charges being deducted from customers’ accounts by banks have caused uproar within the public as Nigerians have expressed their dissatisfaction and displeasure over such excessive deductions which they feel are fraudulent and targeted at further impoverishing Nigerians.”
He recalled that in April 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria revised the card maintenance charges in the new guide released from N100 annually to N50 monthly.
