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An investor of Heritage Bank has absolved the Bank of any involvement in the alleged concealment of N11.2 Billion belonging to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
The source who preferred to remain anonymous on Thursday described the allegation as false, adding that “only a fraction” of the agency’s fund was left in the bank’s portfolio due to shortages of foreign exchange “which delayed the transfer”.
According to him, the scarcity of forex made it difficult to make the full payment, “which the management of NPA was aware of”.
The source explained that the bank has fully complied with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive on the Treasury Single Account for those belonging to all the agencies, while on the case of the port authority, Heritage Bank has maintained a full disclosure policy of the industry, as the management of NPA were privy to their account information.
The source said: “Heritage Bank has been one of the strong adherents to Federal Government’s directive on the TSA. Hence, as a bank, we have not been involved in any case of concealment or fraudulent treatment of funds belonging to NPA. Heritage Bank regularly receives Naira and US Dollar payments on behalf of NPA which are remitted to NPA’s TSA accounts with CBN.
“Also, it is necessary to make it clear to the banking public and those concerned that Heritage Bank has not in anytime concealed the said balance from the new management of NPA or CBN.”
Making reference to the ownership structure, another source refuted reports which alleged that the Bank belong to the Saraki family.
According to him, the scarcity of forex made it difficult to make the full payment, “which the management of NPA was aware of”.
The source explained that the bank has fully complied with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive on the Treasury Single Account for those belonging to all the agencies, while on the case of the port authority, Heritage Bank has maintained a full disclosure policy of the industry, as the management of NPA were privy to their account information.
The source said: “Heritage Bank has been one of the strong adherents to Federal Government’s directive on the TSA. Hence, as a bank, we have not been involved in any case of concealment or fraudulent treatment of funds belonging to NPA. Heritage Bank regularly receives Naira and US Dollar payments on behalf of NPA which are remitted to NPA’s TSA accounts with CBN.
“Also, it is necessary to make it clear to the banking public and those concerned that Heritage Bank has not in anytime concealed the said balance from the new management of NPA or CBN.”
Making reference to the ownership structure, another source refuted reports which alleged that the Bank belong to the Saraki family.
The source affirmed that Saraki has no share in Heritage Bank, adding that “It is a glaring case of de-marketing and we have since drawn attention of the CBN to this”.
He, however, described the bank as one of the nation’s “healthiest and fastest growing banks, with a target of becoming an industry leader in the near future”.
*Contact Citybusinessnews@yahoo.com
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