- Safiu Kehinde
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the licenses of 46 Microfinance Banks over alleged failure to meet regulatory requirements.
This was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday by the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali.
According to the statement, the revocation of the banks’ license was approved by the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso.
The banks’ licenses were revoked over series of different infractions which include insufficient assets to meet liabilities; closure of operations without the CBN approval; inactivity and cessation of financial intermediation.
Other violations which prompted the revocation include failure to commence operations within 12 months of licence approval, and failure to maintain minimum capital funds unimpaired by losses.
The CBN described the revocation of the licenses as part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard the stability of the financial sector, protect depositors, and ensure that licensed institutions comply with current laws and regulatory requirements.
Some of the affected banks include Gold MFB (Lagos), Janmaa MFB (Kwara), Sycamore MFB (Kano), Avantus MFB (Osun), Safegate MFB (Lagos), and Crystabel MFB (Bayelsa) amongst others.
See full list below
1. Minji-Se Churchill MFB
2. Merchant MFB
3. Janmaa MFB
4. Busu MFB
5. Gold MFB
6. Zain MFB (formerly Dawakin Tofa MFB)
7. Bompai MFB
8. Ajwa MFB (Formerly Gezawa)
9. NOW NOW DIGITAL MFB
10. Crystabel Microfinance Bank
11. Chanelle MFB
12. Abia SME MFB
13. Kamba MFB
14. Iwade MFB
15. Winview MFB
16. Zuru MFB
17. Minjibir MFB
18. Shanono MFB
19. Sumaila MFB
20. Rimin Gado MFB
21. Mwaghavul MFB
22. Sycamore MFB
23. TOFA MFB
24. Safegate MFB
25. Creekline MFB
26. Bestar MFB
27. Livingspring MFB
28. Apple MFB
29. Stanford MFB
30. Frontline MFB
31. Zafec MFB
32. Supreme MFB
33. Bejin-Doko MFB
34. Kanopoly MFB
35. Bellbank MFB (formerly Tsanyawa)
36. Yeneng MFB
37. Creditville MFB
38. MBAG MFB
39. STRAIGHT SAHARA MFB
40. OURPASS MFB
41. VERDANT MFB
42. BASAWA MFB
43. CASHA MFB
44. ESTEEM MFB
45. ENTREPRENEUR MFB
46. AVANTUS MFB