CBN Directs Banks to End Rendition on Microcredit Fund
Five years after the operation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Micro credit Fund was discontinued, the apex bank said some banks were still making rendition of their returns on the scheme to the CBN.
Consequently, the apex bank last week directed the affected banks to stop the process forthwith.
In a letter addressed to all the nation’s money deposit banks, which was signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, the CBN “observed that some banks still render returns on MCF to the Central Bank of Nigeria more than five years after the discontinuation of the scheme.”
The letter therefore directed banks to stop forthwith, the rendition of this return to the CBN.
In the letter titled “Cessation of Rendition of Returns on Micro Credit Fund,” Martins said, “You may recall that the Micro Credit Fund (MCF) which had been in operation since February 8, 2008 was discontinued through the decision reached at the 298th Bankers’ Committee Meeting shall be applicable for three years (2008 – 2010).
It added that the tenor of the loan accessed by each state shall be as agreed with the bank but shall not exceed one year in the first instance, with the possibility of a roll-over yearly, thereafter. The state can access the Fund on a yearly basis, provided it continues to meet its obligations under the Fund.
The apex bank explained that the micro credit scheme was