Customers kick as banks declare huge profit

Commercial bank customers in the Federal Capital Territory have urged banks to pay more attention to customer satisfaction than declaring massive profits.

They spoke against the backdrop of some commercial banks making an estimated profit before tax of N3.8 trillion in the first half of 2014.

According to reports, the banks, which include Zenith Bank, UBA, and 10 others, recorded a 108.2 percent increase from the N1.83 trillion recorded in the first half of 2023.

But bank customers told the newsmen on Wednesday that they were not impressed by mere profit margins.

They said it was unfortunate that while banking services continued to get worse, banks continued to make multiple deductions from their accounts, which added to the massive profits they declared recently.

Some customers alleged that some of the commercial banks were extorting money from their deposits to boost their financial performance.

Ibekwe Jonathan said he stopped banking with one of the commercial banks in 2023, yet the bank still sends him debit alerts that were not explained.

“I stopped banking with them sometime last year because my money was missing, and all efforts to get it resolved failed.

“The bank staff members were busy tossing me around so I decided to abandon the account but till today, they still send me debit alerts. Is that not criminal?’ he lamented.

Another Customer, who gave her name as Queen Chukwujiekwu, explained that banks would continue to be richer so long as they continued to make the illegal deductions from customers` accounts.

According to her, they will charge you for SMS, ATM maintenance, and stamp duty; even when you deposit your own money, they will still charge you,” she said.

She called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to come up with strict supervision and regulations towards the service charges by banks, but they defied the apex bank.

However, a member of staff of United Bank for Africa who pleaded anonymity said that a substantial portion of the performance of these banks came from non-interest charges.

“The economy is indeed bad, and inflation is on the increase at the moment but people still rely on banks to deposit, save and transfer money to family members or business associates.

“They are charged for these services, he said.

On his part, a former staff member of UBA, Samuel Echoda, alleged that some banks inflate their reports to remain relevant, gratify their shareholders, or attract more customers.

Echoda expressed reservations about the financial reports of some of the banks, alleging that some banks manipulate their record books.

According to him, all they do is skilfully twist figures just to gratify their shareholders and partners.

“I am not saying that they don’t make profits, but the figure they release to the public is questionable,” he said.