The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) have stated that over 75% of fraud cases in the banking sector had been traced to outsourced bank staff, and have cautioned banks on the use of casual workers.
Managing director and chief executive of the NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, while calling for a closer look at the phenomenon of outsourced or contract staff in banks to ensure healthy and sound practices in the banking industry, said bank examination reports had indicated that the high incidences of fraud and forgeries in the banking system had been linked to outsourced or contract staff.
He also disclosed that in as much as regulators appreciated the necessity for banks to cut costs, it was incumbent on all stakeholders to fashion out capacity building and other strategies to motivate all employees to contribute positively rather than engaging in criminal acts that impact adversely on the entire banking system.
The CIBN president, Otunba (Mrs) Debola Osibogun, during a courtesy visit to the NDIC, regretted that a large percentage of fraud cases in the banking sector are traced to outsourced bank staff who were neither professionals nor members of the CIBN.
While noting that the institute had no control over the banks, Osibogun disclosed that a committee of the institute was already working with heads of operations of banks on the challenges posed by the outsourced staff and would soon submit its report to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for consideration.
