The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FITC, Dr. Lucy Newman, says the number of bank frauds perpetrated by customers is very significant, adding that it is wrong to conclude that virtually all bank frauds are carried out by employees.

She, however, said the development was a direct reflection of the decadence in the society, adding that banks did not exist in a “vacuum”.

Newman observed that it was usually more challenging to deal with frauds emanating from “outsiders.”

She spoke at a conference organised by FITC in Lagos.

The conference, which has its theme as “FITC’s – preparing for limitless opportunities,” was meant to commemorate the three decades of pioneering top-level training of bank and financial institutions officials.

She said, “The bank does not exist in a vacuum; it does in a society. Its customers are members of the society and banks take their staff from the same society. And it also gets some of its service providers from the society.

“If we say it is just the employees of the bank, we might be blowing things out of proportion. FITC has been collecting data on fraud and forgery in banks for about 13 years now. And you will be surprised that some of the frauds emanate from bank customers.

“And sometimes, they get slight collusion with the staff or service providers; and the bank has to fight back. And we know they do terminate employment.”

The CEO, who also emphasised the relationship between productivity and human capital development, however, said there was the need for banks to tighten their security.

While commending initiatives banks have put in place to curb frauds, the FITC boss observed that it was easier for banks to deal “harshly” with their employees who were caught in the act than they could do with outsiders who broke into system.

“Yes fraud is an issue, e-payment is a big issue, even on the global side; and that’s why cyber risk is an issue,” she noted.

Newman maintained that FITC was committed to protecting and advancing the knowledge and practice of banking and finance, while exploring innovations that enable efficiency and quality of banking in the financial institutions, including effective practice of corporate governance.

Punch