The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed a N78 million sanction on Access Bank Plc for complacency and unethical practices in the Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercises in the 2017 financial year.
Specifically accused of failing to carry out the apex bank regulatory requirements on BVN for its customers, the bank is expected to pay the imposed fine at a stipulated period.
The bank’s 2017 corporate action made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for verification today, other contraventions by the bank include, non-disclosure of unutilized foreign exchange from CBN, non-compliance as regards Bank assurance rules, CBN forex examination, among others.
The bank also reported its involvement that in plethora cases as a defendant in its ordinary course of business in the year under review, saying however that the court cases will have no material effect on its operations.
The lender hinted further in its financial statement that it granted various credit facilities to its subsidiary companies and key management personnel, adding that “Key Management Personnel is defined as members of the Board of Directors of the bank, including their close members of family and any entity over which they exercise control.
Despite the financial sanction imposed on it by the apex bank, the bank’s board of director has proposed a final dividend of 40 kobo, bringing the total dividend for the 2017 financial year to 65 kobo per share.
The proposed dividend, which is subject to appropriate withholding if approved, will be paid to shareholders whose names appear in the register of members as at the close of business on Thursday, April 12, 2018 and subsequently transferred to shareholders’ accounts on April 25, 2018.
The bank’s group consolidated statement of comprehensive income shows that earnings dropped at both top and bottom lines.
