Banks to sack 5,000 this week

There are strong indications that the on-going wind of massive job cuts in banks will blow unabated before the end of the year.

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune indicated that apart from the two banks that sacked over 4,000 workers at the weekend, four banks have also concluded plans to distribute sack letters today.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that two of the four banks fall in the category of those declared safe and sound by the recent special audit instituted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

A source close to one of the banks that has its head office in Marina, Lagos, who pleaded anonymity, told the Nigerian Tribune that the sack letters had already been signed and would be distributed to the affected members of staff from today.

According to him, about 2,000 workers had been earmarked for sack, adding that the management kept the list as top secret, as no one could readily say who would be affected.

The source said no known criteria were employed for the exercise, stressing that it was part of cost-cutting measures.

When contacted, the national president, National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, (NUBIFIE), Mr. Hassan Adeleke, confirmed that only two banks had contacted the union since the mass sack began, stating that since the banks said it was inevitable, what the union wanted was that there were good severance packages for those affected.

He warned that though the union was abreast of the prevailing circumstance in the banks, this should not be used as an excuse to trim the workforce.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Operating Officer, Landmark Investments, Mr. Okechukwu Amadi, said what was happening in the banking sector was highly regrettable.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has described the recent shake-up in Nigeria’s banking sector by the CBN governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, as a proactive step to save the economy from collapse.

The Managing Director, World Bank Group, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, speaking with newsmen at the inaugural graduation ceremony of the AfricanUniversity of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, at the weekend, said Sanusi was doing a good job to restore sanity to the sector.

Okonjo-Iweala, who is also the chairperson of the board of Nelson Mandela Institute, the parent body of AUST, Abuja, added that in view of the current global financial crisis, there was the need for strong supervision and risk management of the banking sector, which she said Sanusi was doing.

The World Bank chief and Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance said “it is a good thing that we are transparent and open about our banking sector. The CBN governor is doing a good job.”

She added that the consolidation was a good thing, “but now, it is time to have strong supervision and risk management and Sanusi is doing it.”

(Source: Tribune)