By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday said all new loans must have the Bank Verification Number (BVN) as a condition precedent to drawdown with effect from November 03, 2014.
This is contained in a circular with reference number BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/01/015 dated Tuesday October 21, 2014 and signed by Dipo Fatokun, director, banking and payments system department at the CBN.
Also, the CBN said that all credit customers must have BVN by December 31, 2014.
Part of the circular reads thus: ‘’you will recall that the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers Committee launched the BVN project in February 2014. As part of the overall strategy of ensuring the effectiveness of Know Your Customer (KYC) principles, the BVN gives each bank customer a unique identity across the Nigerian banking industry,’’ the circular affirmed.
According to the CBN, it has observed that deposit money banks are making steady progress towards the enrollment of their customers. ‘’However the attention of CBN has been drawn on the need to clarify grey areas in the process of enrollment of the customers on BVN,” the statement said.
The apex bank said it had therefore become necessary for it to issue clarifications for the stakeholders to note and implement.
“Where an existing customer wishes to register the BVN with his or her bank, capturing his signature and photo identification documents may not be necessary, as the bank is expected to have those records during the account opening.
In the same vein, it said where an existing customer wishes to do a change of name after his or her enrollment on the BVN, due diligence should be exercised and appropriate legal documents obtained, before the change is effected.
The Nigeria’s central bank says in order to fast track the enrollment process, DMBs are expected to give more attention to the enrollment of their customers, and are required to enroll at least 40 percent of their customers on or before 31 December 2014, and 70 percent on or before 30 March 2015.
The CBN said it will monitor compliance.
