Why Emefiele Halts Foreign Officers From Banking Services In Nigeria
Afimag.com –
The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has stopped foreign banks representative offices in Nigeria from engaging in any financial-related services.
Emefiele who disclosed this in a circular forwarded to all banks and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), gave a vivid specification on the financial conditions for licensing representative offices, which include a non-refundable application fee of N5 million and a non-refundable licensing fee of N10 million.
According to him, an approved representative office of a foreign bank in Nigeria is a liaison office of the foreign bank and must be licensed by the CBN for the purpose of marketing the products and services of her country.
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The CBN governor stated that the liaison between its foreign parent and local banks, which is deemed as an affiliate of the foreign parent, other financial institutions, private companies and the general public would be also be incensed by the apex bank.
While saying that an approved representative office is barred from carrying out banking business or any other regulated activity in Nigeria, the CBN said: “The approved offices shall not engage in the following services/activities:
“Provision of services designated in Nigeria as banking business; provision of any commercial or trading activity that may lead to the issuance of invoices for services rendered; engage directly in any financial transaction; any other activity that may be specified by the CBN from time to time.
“Approved representative offices (Office) are permitted to carry out the following activities: Marketing the products and services of its foreign parent or an affiliate of the foreign parent licensed and domiciled outside Nigeria.”
Other objectives were to embark on research activities in Nigeria on behalf of the foreign parent; serving as a liaison between the foreign parent and local banks, private institutions within Nigeria and other customers of the foreign parent based in Nigeria.
The CBN further said that representative offices play a critical role in showcasing the brand and services of their parent company and may also promote foreign direct investment in the host country by linking capital to various investment opportunities.