Banks in Nigeria have commenced the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Global Standing Instruction which permits them to recover debtors outstanding debts from other banks.
As a result of the implementation, debtors that have outstanding debts in a bank and have fund in other banks will have their funded accounts automatically debited in a bid to regularise their loan accounts.
Prominent Nigerians have reacted to this development. While some Nigerians welcome the development, others spoke against the development.
While speaking in favour of the implementation, the former President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Peter Esele, said the guideline should have been put in place since.
He said: “The financial system has been abused and it is baffling that one man would be owing six banks in the same country; it can’t happen anywhere else.
“What the CBN is doing now is that it is sanitising the industry and we now actually know who are the real businessmen and the real big men.
“Some men are wealthy from running banks down because a lot of the big men are running banks down.”
The President of United Labour Congress, Joseph Ajaero in his reaction said banks were encountering problems because they were lending without collateral and urged banks to ensure borrowers provide adequate collateral before they are availed loans.
He said, “Banks that are lending money to people should make sure that they have adequate collateral.
“Ordinarily, banks cannot on their own go to another bank and take the money that was kept in another bank; they are independent and should operate independently.”
