Central Bank of Nigeria, on Thursday, threatened to penalise Deposit Money Banks rejecting mutilated Naira notes.
CBN’s Acting Director of Currency Operations Department, Solaja Olayemi, in a statement on behalf of the apex bank, said several reports have been made against the banks.
The statement read, “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has received several reports of rejection of dirty/mutilated Naira banknotes by some Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
“Consequently, it has become imperative to remind DMBs that the CBN circular dated July 2, 2019, reference number COD/DIR/GEN/CIR/01/006, which prescribes penalties for the rejection of Naira banknotes, is still enforceable and binding on erring DMBs.”
The apex bank warned that it will not hesitate to impose strict sanctions on banks reported to have rejected Naira deposits from the public, under any guise.
On July 2, CBN warned banks and authorised foreign exchange dealers against rejecting old series and lower denominations of dollars.
The apex bank said all relevant parties must adhere to and comply with the instruction, emphasising its disapproval of selective acceptance of deposits.
The statement added that the CBN had discovered old series and lower denominations of dollars are still being rejected during a consumer market survey.
