TheCable

The management of Access Bank has threatened to publish the list of all its delinquent debtors.

In a statement released on Thursday, the bank said it is acting in line with a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“All Access Bank Plc (including former Diamond Bank Plc) debtors are directed to pay up their past due obligations in order to avoid punitive actions being taken against them,” the bank said.

“Please note that we shall publish our debtors’ names in newspapers in two weeks.

“Similarly, in the event that these obligations are not fulfilled, we shall take such further actions against such delinquent individuals and companies as we may consider necessary and shall relentlessly pursue full recovery of all our debts.”

Deepening its threat, the bank said it would collaborate with other banks to ensure that habitual debtors are excluded from the banking system.

“Furthermore, all debtors will be sanctioned by the CBN and banned from participating in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange and Securities Exchange Markets and registered on the Credit Risk Management Systems (CRMS) Bureau as bad debtors making them, their directors and related entities illegible for any credit in the Nigerian Financial Markets.”

Earlier in May, the bank had announced that it would pay off a $200 million Eurobond issued by Diamond Bank in 2014.

Access Bank became Nigeria’s largest bank after completing a merger process with Diamond Bank in March.