Concerns Rise as UBA, Zenith, Stanbic, Wema Bank Delay Release of Financial Results

• Four Nigerian banks have disclosed the reasons for the delayed submission of their audited financial report
• Companies listed on the exchange are required to submit their previous year's financial reports by March 31
• One of the banks stated that it has forwarded its audited financial statements to the CBN for the final approval process

Four financial institutions have publicly declared their intention to postpone the submission of their audited financial reports for the fiscal year 2023.

These institutions include the United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and Wema Bank.

The banks have communicated their inability to meet the deadline for filing their audited results for the preceding financial year.

As per the regulations of the Nigerian Exchange, companies listed on the exchange are required to submit their previous year's financial reports by March 31.

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It would be recalled that in August 2023, the NGX imposed a penalty of N87.3 million on 24 companies listed on the stock market for filing their 2022 audited financial statements after the regulatory due date.

According to Punch, most of these institutions cited ongoing processes for approval from their regulatory authority, namely the Central Bank of Nigeria, as the reason for the delay.

UBA has officially notified its shareholders and the broader public through a statement submitted to the NGX that the 2023 Financial Statements and Reports, covering the period ending DeDecember 312023, have been forwarded to the CBN for the necessary review and approval procedures.

It added:

"Consequently, the bank has yet to publish its audited financial statements on the NGX portal.”

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The Tony Elumelu-headed bank had therefore set a target to release the results by April 302024.

Wema Bank attributed its delay to awaiting regulatory approval, stating that it is currently in the process of securing approval from one of its regulatory bodies.

Once this approval is obtained, the bank assures the public that it will promptly release the audited financial statements for the 2023 fiscal year-end.

In its official communication submitted to the exchange, Zenith Bank, amidst its transition to a holding company structure, announced that it has forwarded its audited financial statements and accounts to the CBN for the final approval process.

Anticipating a delay, the bank cited the recent completion of the component audit for its subsidiary companies as a contributing factor.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc echoed a similar sentiment, attributing the delay to its ongoing pursuit of approval from the CBN for the audited financial statements covering the full year of 2023. Once this approval is obtained, the company will proceed to release the aforementioned financial statements to the market.

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Investors have been eagerly awaiting the financial statements of leading banks as they adjust their investment portfolios.

This is coming at a time when the CBN announced new capitalisation criteria for different types of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

Banks ordered to demand social media handles

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the CBN asked all financial institutions, including commercial banks, to collect and verify customers' social media handles as part of their Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.

The new directive applies to individuals and legal entities' customers as captured in CBN's Customer Due Diligence Regulations for 2023, obtained by Legit.ng.

The CBN hopes that the social media handles will enhance financial institutions' accuracy and depth of customer identification.

Source: Legit.ng