CBN, SEC Slam Access Holdings With N1.2bn Fines For Contraventions

Nigeria’s biggest financial institution, Access Holdings paid over N1 Billion for several contraventions against regulatory bodies including the Central Bank of Nigeria and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the year ended 2024.

This disclosure was included in the company’s recently released full year 2024 financial result uploaded on the Nigerian group exchange, sighted.

The bank incurred the highlighted amount from the period of April 2024 to December 2024, indicating the regulatory directions flouted by Access Holdings.

According to the report, the sum of N300 Million was paid as penalty for wrong warehousing of funds received from a government agency in April 2024, the sum of N157.5 Million was paid as penalty for contraventions of AML regulations, the sum of N2 Million was paid as penalty for contravention of consumer protection regulation in respect of wrong renewal of debit cards, the Sum of N5million was paid as penalty for contravention of regulations on targeted financial sanctions and screening solutions relating to the Bank’s database, the sum of N5 million was paid as penalty for contravention of regulations on mystery shopping for confiscated naira notes, the Sum of N5 million as penalty for contravention of regulations on targeted financial sanctions and screening solutions relating to the Bank’s database, the sum of N69 million penalty for contravention of regulations on reporting of cyber incidents that occurred in the Bank, Sum of N100.6m penalty for unauthorized sale of securities, and the Sum of N561 million penalty for contravention of AML regulations.

In total, The Company and Group paid penalties amounting to N1.21 billion in respect of contravention of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020 and CBN Circulars during the year ended 31 59 December 2024 as disclosed in note 41 to the consolidated and separate financial statements.

Meanwhile, in 2023, the total payments for contravention was N38 Million. Compared to N1.21 Billion in 2024, this represents a huge negative difference for the institution.

On the positive side, The Group delivered 88% year-on-year growth in gross earnings, rising from N2.594 trillion in 2023 to N4.878 trillion in 2024. The strong performance was driven by diversified income streams, with interest income growing by 110% to N3.480 trillion and non-interest income increasing by 47.8% to N1.397 trillion, supported by robust retail banking activities, digital expansion, and a dynamic trading strategy.

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