News: Twenty-One Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to Axe 10,000 Jobs

Twenty-One Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are expected to fire at least 10,000 out of an estimated 110,000 work force within the year, The Nation has learnt.


Internal sources within the banks said the lenders are downsizing following rising difficult operating environment, cost of overheads and tough policies from regulators making it difficult for them to post huge profits as was the case few years back.

The source said a large part of the workforce to be axed will come from Keystone Bank, one of the three bridged banks expected to be sold to new investors within the first half of this year.

Already, First City Monument Bank Limited, which sacked over 200 of its workforce early last month, hinged the decision on tough operating environment. The massive workforce disengagement, which affected almost all cadres of its workforce, it was gathered, was due to policy shifts in the banking and operational environments, including tougher regulations.

Regulatory pressures from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other regulators have intensified pressure on banks' profitability, cutting down their Return on Investments (RoI) as they gradually lose their traditional areas of income. This has led to massive workers disengagement in many lenders.

For instance, the ongoing implementation of the zero Commission on Turnover (CoT) fees, increase in contribution to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) levies and high Cash Reserve Ratios (CRRs) are key policies depleting banks’ bottom lines.

The 21 commercial banks are expected to lose over N100 billion yearly to the zero CoT policy; N140 billion to the AMCON levy which has been increased from 0.3 per cent of banks' total assets to 0.5 per cent and nearly N100 billion to the NDIC levy.

Reacting to the development, FCMB's Group Head, Corporate Communications and Brand Management, Diran Olojo, said: "As a result of the various policy changes that have affected banking adversely and macroeconomic challenges, volumes of business in various geographies and product areas have reduced significantly. These factors have resulted in the redundancy of various roles.

"Regardless, we have continued to hire in various areas of the group, particularly those that will drive financial inclusion and provide support for the real sector."

Olojo said the lender was not able to redeploy the affected workers from some redundant roles to new ones, hence the action. “We have thus been compelled to effect a minor reduction in our staff strength. We will continue to create employment opportunities in the areas that align with our national economic priorities and the growth areas of the financial service industry," he said.

"We remain optimistic about the long term prospects for the industry and will be a net creator of jobs over the next few years as we expand our franchise to support national priorities such as financial inclusion, import substitution and non oil export promotion," the bank's spokesman added.

But the FCMB Group Plc assured in a statement that its subsidiaries: First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited, will come out better this year.

In a statement, the holding company said its subsidiaries would also deepen the financial services support they provide to customers and the nation at large with their array of products and bespoke solutions to further enhance customer experience in their respective target markets.

Managing Director of FCMB Group Plc, Peter Obaseki, said, "2016 will be characterised by continued growth in retail contribution, stabilisation of wholesale banking revenues and increased focus on cost efficiencies".

He added that the retail banking business of the Group, which is driven by First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, has continued to "show greater resilience and earnings momentum over the years".

He disclosed that FCMB Group Plc would in the fourth week of January this year announce the completion of the banking subsidiary's interim audit, which should pave way for the release of the 3Q15 earnings results of FCMB Group Plc.

He said third quarter 2015 earnings will fall below earnings for the same period in 2014, due to a spike in impairments particularly in the energy sector and the significant reduction in trade finance-related revenues due to foreign exchange illiquidity. This trend, he added, will continue December 2015 and largely emanated from wholesale banking activities'.

He further stated that, "we will increase focus on cost efficiencies (opex, funding and risk) in order to restore earnings levels". FCMB Group, as a holding company, is one of the dominant players in the Nigerian financial landscape with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their niche segments.

Source: The Nation