Christmas with tears as bank customers struggle for cash

Two days to Christmas celebrations, commercial bank customers, on Friday, decried dearth of cash in many banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country.

Findings by Saturday Tribune revealed that Nigerians across the country went through harrowing difficulties on Friday due to their inability to make withdrawals from most of the banks.

The difficulty in getting cash withdrawn from the banks resulted in the customers engaging in survival of the fittest in banking halls and at ATM points.

Hectic banking hours in Abuja

Bank customers had a hectic time withdrawing cash in the last two days in Abuja and a visit to some of the branches revealed long queues as customers rushed to make last minute transactions for Christmas and the long holidays ahead.

The same situation was witnessed at ATM sites, as the spokesman for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Isaac Okorafor, attributed the situation to the normal festive season rush.

He, however, allayed fears about any of the banks experiencing difficulties in meeting their obligations to customers, assuring, that “We have managed the situation very well. People should stop peddling rumour about our banks. The banking system is very sound”.

Many bank customers were seen stranded, even as long queues were witnessed at various ATMs visited in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Most of the customers complained that the machines were not dispensing and, while network service was held responsible for some cases, it was observed that several others did not have cash to dispense.

The situation in banking halls in Kubwa and the Central Business District was chaotic all through the day and it was observed that most customers besieged the banks to make heavy withdrawals.

When contacted, the branch manager of one of the old generation banks told Saturday Tribune that the financial institution did not have enough cash, adding that the bank was alarmed over the quantum of cash that customers had already withdrawn, a situation which, he said, surpassed the bank’s estimates.

The manager also expressed fears that most bank customers would be disappointed during the festive period as they would not be able to make withdrawals in coming days, especially as banks would remain closed till December 28.

Some of the customers interviewed expressed sadness that they faced disappointments, as they wondered why banks would not keep enough money, knowing that many customers would make heavy withdrawals during the season.

A resident who gave his name as Saddique said, in as much as the bad economy could be blamed for the current challenge, that was not enough reason for customers not to find money to withdraw at this crucial time.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), there were long queues in most of the banks within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including United Bank for Africa (UBA), First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FBN), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), all in Area 3; Ecobank, Gwarinpa and Zenith Bank in Dutse.

Other banks affected by the cash-crunch included Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, First City Monument Bank and Access Bank, in Garki.

A customer at one of the banks in Area 3, Mrs Esther Uche, said she was not able to make a withdrawal from her account, after spending more than 20 minutes waiting under the sun.

“The bank management is aware of the usual chaos during every festivity and ought to have made adequate provision, especially regarding availability of funds in ATMs”, she said.

A customer at another bank, Mr Gabriel Okwoche, said that it was unfortunate that the banks were not able to meet customers’ demands, adding that he did not expect the queue at the bank, as many Nigerians were complaining the economy was bad and no money in circulation.

It was same story at Area 3, as a customer, Miss Joy Edoh, claimed that she had been to about four banks’ ATMS in Garki, without being able to make withdrawal from any of the machines.

Crowd not unusual —Lagos bank officials

Though Deposit Money Banks in the country have denied allegations of cash crunch in the system, many bank customers in Lagos said they could not withdraw money from Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

When Saturday Tribune visited some banks in Yaba, Ikeja, Oshodi, Alausa and other areas in the Lagos metropolis, customers were seen in long queues lamenting that they had visited several ATMs since morning but could not withdraw their hard earned money.

However, almost all the banks visited in different parts of the city on Friday recorded a huge crowd of customers, with most of them waiting to withdraw funds in anticipation of the long holiday.

In Abule Egba and Iyana Ipaja, the spectacle was the same. Security men attached to the banks – First Bank, Zenith Bank, Skye Bank, Diamond Bank and even Access Bank had a difficult time controlling the crowd that had been within and outside the banking halls.

Findings, however, revealed that despite the long queue and the huge crowds, there was no case of any customer being denied access to his funds.

An official of one of the banks, who would not want her name in print, however, described the spectacle as not unusual.

Yusuf Ade, who claimed to be a customer of  one of the new generation banks lamented that he could not withdraw money from his account due poor internet connectivity and lack of funds in many branches of the bank  in Lagos since Thursday.

“Customers found it difficult to withdraw their funds at all the banks in Alausa Secretariat and environs. Even at Ejigbo, Oshodi and its environs,” he said.

At Oshodi the residents told the Saturday Tribune that they had been experiencing hardship in getting their money for more than one week, adding that the ATMs had no money to dispense while others were faulty with the consequent long queues.

“As at when I was leaving home in the morning the crowd at GTB ,Zenith,Fidelity and FCMB was very large but I did not wait to see if they got money or not but at  Ikeja GRA area  the crowd was not much about thirty minutes ago at First Bank, ECOBANK, GTB and Zenith. The problem is definitely not due to financial challenges on the part of those banks,” a resident who did not want his name in print said.

A banker, who did not mention his name, said they were waiting for more cash as of Thursday, but by Friday, they got some supplies.

Another top bank executive who preferred anonymity because she was not permitted to speak on the matter agreed that there was tight liquidity in the system but explained that such was not the reason why people were finding it difficult to withdraw money.

“Yes we are experiencing huge crowds in banking halls and bank premises. It is not unexpected, though, considering the fact that Christmas  is in the air. Remember the age long Christmas rush. It cuts across sectors. You know in this part of the globe, we are used to this eleventh –hour preparation. You know today is the last working day of the week and it precedes a long holiday. What you are seeing now are people trying to get some funds for the holiday.

“Also, in overcrowded residential areas, we experience massive withdrawals but in areas where you have more estates and fewer crowds, we experience less withdrawal pressure,” the banking source explained.

Meanwhile, financial experts at  Lagos based Cowry Assets Management Limited led by its Managing Director, Mr, Johnson Chukwu said there was liquidity pressure which was evident in the increase recorded in the Nigerian Inter-bank Offered Rate (NIBOR). NIBOR represents rate at which banks borrow and lend funds to each other. It is the short term lending rates of selected banks in the Nigerian inter-bank market quoted as annualized rates.

According to the experts, total money that left the financial system exceeded the total money that came into the system.

“The inflows were offset by outflows from auctioned bills worth N57.66billio and via Open Market Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, through 198 treasury bills worth N10.29billion and 352-day bills worth N7.64billion,” the assets managers said in an emailed note to Saturday Tribune.

Banks closed early in Ogun

Due to the long holiday declared by the Federal Government to celebrate the Christmas, customers in large numbers besieged banks within Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, to withdraw money.

There were long queues within the banking hall in some of the banks visited by the Saturday Tribune.

Also, there were endless queues at the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) points to either withdraw or lodge money, even as some of the banks closed transactions by 2.00pm.

Banks run out of cash in Osun due to heavy withdrawals

Commercial bank customers in Osun State were helpless as most of the banks in Osogbo, the state capital, ran out of cash due to massive withdrawal of funds by customers.

Also commercials banks in major towns in the state, including Ife, Ilesa, Ikirun and others were besieged by customers as early as 8.00am in a desperate move to withdraw enough cash, which would be used to purchase items and commodities for the Yuletide.

Similarly, there were long queues of people at the ATM points in commercial banks, located along Ogo Oluwa area on Gbongan-Ibadan expressway, as our correspondent reliably gathered that at around 2.00pm, virtually all the ATM points were already out of service, just as customers in the banking halls were unable to withdraw from their accounts due to lack of cash, occasioned by massive withdrawals, which became noticeable earlier in the week, till Friday.

Customers besiege bank halls in Ekiti

On Friday, banking  halls and ATM centres in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital were filled with customers who were mostly there to make withdrawals.

However, the busier ATMs are in the town, especially in Okeyinmi area where two old generation banks have their branches.

Just as there were lots of people at the machines, the bank branches at Bank Road in the new area of the town also experienced crowded banking halls with distraught customers seen sitting on the bare floor.

Some of the customers said they had spent hours in the banking halls while most of the machines were no longer dispensing cash.

“The cash in them have been exhausted by hundreds of people who had been there today as we learnt that salaries were paid yesterday,” one of them said.

ATMs at Okesa, Irona and Fajuyi were also busy.

A worker in one of the old generation banks at Okeyinmi told Saturday Tribune in a telephone interview that they were still in their branches when called at 6pm.

She said: “We had long closed for the day and had let the customers use the ATMs. We cannot do more than we can possibly do in terms of cash loading. Of course, we cannot load beyond the capacity of the various machines.”

Sorrows and tears at ATMs in Ibadan

Bank customers in most places visited in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital were not spared the agonies associated with paucity of money as most of the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) simply failed to dispense money.

A Saturday Tribune correspondent, who spent over an hour on the queue, waiting to make a withdrawal at the ATM point of a new  generation bank, within the metropolis, was not spared the agony as two women behind her beckoned on her to give them chance to withdraw ahead of her.

“They  pleaded ‘Aunty, working class ni yin (you are a working class lady).  We are teachers, we just received our salary, please give us space, let us collect just a little amount of money, so that we can make it in time to buy a few things for Christmas’ with sadness and distress written all over their faces.

“A few minutes later, I decided to let them stay in front of me because they kept begging and would not relent. After about 20 minutes, it was my turn and the seemingly slow ATM stopped dispensing cash. Everybody on the queue lost their patience and started shouting at the security men, asking them to tell the officials to reload the machine.

“This exercise took another 30 minutes, as men, women and youths stood under the scorching sun,” she said.

Another Tribune staff member, while relating her experience said she was at one of the ATMs to make a withdrawal of N10,000 which she was only able to do by getting nothing more than N1,000 at each attempt.