Banks Release More Names of Forex Defaulters Following CBN’s Directive

Some commercial banks have released more names of forex defaulters in compliance with the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to publish the names of individuals looking to trick the system.

Information available on the websites of 10 commercial banks show that as of Friday, February 18, 2022, over 1,226 names were published.

On its website, Zenith Bank listed 990 foreign exchange (FX) offenders, while Polaris Bank and Sterling Bank listed 40 and 53, respectively.

Access Bank on its website has 29, Fidelity Bank reported 83, First City Monument Bank had nine, Stanbic IBTC Bank reported 15, Standard Chartered Bank had four, United Bank for Africa had three, and Wema Bank has so far published just one name.

Polaris Bank on its website noted that the 54 customers cancelled their trips and failed to refund the Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) sold to them despite follow-ups with them.

Sterling Bank also revealed that its customers cancelled their trip but failed to return the PTA availed to them despite reaching out to them through phone calls and messages.

The bank also showed that six of its customers presented fake visas or documents to apply for PTA.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had in July last year instructed Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to publish names and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of customers who violated the rules.