Operators in the banking industry are mobilising $20m to replace specialised workers whose exit abroad in search of greener pastures has worsened service levels in banks. Also, rising network glitches and weaker digital channels have exposed banks to increasing activities of hackers, NIKE POPOOLA reports

Mr James Emeka worked in the marketing departments of three commercial banks for nine years before he finally left Nigeria for United Kingdom in search of greener pastures.

Five years after, he speaks to The PUNCH on the worrisome japa syndrome, the term used to explain the mass exit of Nigerians in the country who are seeking better life in other countries.

He says, “Unfortunately, we that have acquired the training and work experience on the field know how it is out there, we are all leaving the country because of the bad economy and experiences without passing the baton of experience to the new entrants.

“What you learn in school is totally different from what you learn when you are working, that is what is called experience.”

Recruiting new people will change of lot of things in banking operations, he says.

Emeka identifies japa as one of the reasons for the huge non-performing loans in the banking sector.

Speaking on major effects, he says, “It is going to change a lot of things. We have poor customer service, we have poor foreign exchange policies, there is no training because we did not handover to anybody; the banking sector is going backward. I spent over nine years in the banking sector, I left without giving the knowledge to people that were coming because I needed to go; nobody could stop me.

“Most of my customers complain they are no longer getting the best they used to get from me. For instance, I used to tell them ahead if there was going to be a change in forex policy, I let them know they need to do this and that. New workers coming in don’t really do that.

“Many of my customers were complaining that there was nobody to help them with loans. If you take a loan, I am not just going to leave you like that; I am still going to research into the business you want to invest in. You will be truthful to me because I am your banker, and I need to know that business you want to invest in. I will go the extra mile to research into the business you want to invest in and  tell you these are my findings, the benefits and the challenges.”

According to him, 97 per cent of those he helped to secure loans repaid successfully  because he was passionate about helping them to succeed, and helping the bank to make profit.

He says, “I was doing most of the ground works for them, but now, most of the people just want to borrow money without researching about the investment. The banks are not building strong customer relationship and confidence; they just want the loans out there and get their profits. That is why you see that at the end of the day, most of the loans end up going bad.”

Nigerian banks’ non-performing loans hit N1.32tn as of the end of April 2023, according to figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The CBN, in 2020 released the GSI guideline to reduce non-performing loans in the banking sector and monitor consistent loan defaulters among others.

According to the CBN, the GSI allows the banks to recover the outstanding principal and interest upon default from any account maintained by the debtor across all financial institutions in Nigeria.

The banking regulator says the non-performing loans were reduced due to the enforcement of GSI, and the writing off of some bad loans in the banks’ financial records.

However, it has been increasingly observed that the continuous exit of competent hands and specialised workers in the banking sector is affecting all areas of banking operations including IT services.

Failed transactions

Many bank depositors have continued to lose their hard-earned funds to failed transactions. Unfortunately, these funds are often not refunded after several complaints to the banks.

A trader, Tosin Ayoade, says, “I made an online payment worth N43,500 with my debit card; my account was debited but the merchant said the payment was not received.  Again, I used my debit card to pay for N10,000 fuel through a PoS at the petrol station, I was debited but the petrol station printed a failed transaction receipt for me.

“On these transactions, I have called my bank several times, and went to two different branches of the bank to lodge complaints but the monies were not reversed. I escalated the complaint to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s complaint channel but I still did not get a refund.”

Speaking on challenges of failed transactions and scams in the banking sector, Julius Ohai, a former banker now in the United States of America, attributed huge failed transactions in the banking sector to high staff turnover in the IT department.

He says, “Many of the staff in the IT sector don’t stay on the job for a long time. As the banking sector in Nigeria seeks to grow and emulate what other countries are doing, the mass exodus of key IT staff is a major downside.”

While only a few displeased bank customers with large amounts take the extra step to approach the banking sector’s tribunal for redress, most customers are being cheated because they are not willing to go through the long path to get justice.

No fewer than 2,281 displeased banks’ customers lodged complaints to the Ethics and Governance Directorate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, claiming N377.6bn and $428.7m refunds, respectively, since the inception of the directorate till the end of 2022, according to figures obtained from the institute.

The CIBN notes that as of the end of 2022 financial period, 2,241 complaints had been resolved, while N34.12bn and $19.48m refunds were awarded on resolved claims since the inception of the sub-committee.

A former bank worker, Charity Balogun, worked in the IT and audit departments of a commercial bank for 16 years before she relocated to Canada.

“Many complaints are not responded to because most of the experience hands have exited the banks, especially those in the IT departments, so the applications are left in the hands of people doing trial and error,” she says.

Hackers

The Director of Payment Systems Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Musa Jimoh, who is also the chairman of Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum, said the banking sector recorded N9.5bn electronic fraud during the first six months of 2023.

A bank customer, Dupe Babatunde, says, “My online banking app was not working again so I went to my bank to complain. I was given a form to fill which I did. When I got back home, I got an email which I thought was from the bank and responded to it because I just came back from the bank.

“Later, a call came and I responded. The person asked me many questions that I should not have responded to but I did because I just left the bank. Unfortunately, my money was cleared from my account and the bank denied any involvement. But, why did the mail come after I left the bank,” she queries.

She is just one of many bank customers whose accounts have been hacked by fraudsters. While many customers have been able to outsmart hackers, several others have become sceptical about using the banks’ epayment channels.

For instance, a former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr Sam Nzekwe, says, “These boys outside the banks who are involved in IT are very clever; they are busy every now and then, trying to break into the banks’ systems because they have learnt so much. I also see that some of the banks’ staff members are part of it.”

Speaking further, he says, “I don’t use ATMs. The reason is that I went to collect a debit card from a bank on a Friday. I had not yet activated it, I planned to activate it on Monday. Before I got home, I started getting emails asking me for my details.

“I did not respond to the emails, but I went back to the bank on Monday. When I told the bank manager about all the emails I received, he was glad I did not respond to them because according to him, the emails were not from the bank. But how did the hackers know that I just left the bank?”

According to a former bank worker, Kazeem Ibrahim, the banking sector is breeding many disgruntled workers who readily compromise customers’ accounts.

He says, “Back in the days when I was in the banking sector, most of us were permanent staff. As a permanent staff, there are a lot of entitlements that we get so because of that, we kept the oath of secrecy of customers. But now, if you notice in the banking sector, contract staff are on the rise.

“Most of the bankers are contract agents who are often paid meagre salaries. So, these workers are the ones giving customers’ details to hackers.”

According to him, contract staff are not treated well and, as such, become very easy to compromise on the job.

Ibrahim says, “Banks have contracted most of these jobs to third-party companies. Can you imagine somebody working in a bank in Nigeria and getting a salary of N50,000 or N40,000 at the end of the month? They would not care to do anything they can to make extra money. So, they are the ones giving customers’ details to hackers. So, they connive with hackers to defraud bank customers.”

He says he left the banking sector 10 years ago, when full-time workers were prevalent in the banks.

“Then, we were well paid, we tried to protect our work, when people approach you, you say no. But now, even if you spend 20 years there, you are not entitled to anything, you just go. You will be ready to accommodate any fraudulent means to make more cash.”

Though he was well remunerated when he was still in Nigeria’s banking industry, he adds, he had to leave the country because of several challenges, especially the deteriorating economy and rising insecurity.

According to him, “The best decision I have made in my life is relocating to the UK because things are better now. They appreciate my value compared to the uncertainty you get at work in Nigeria, not knowing what is going to happen next.

“I left around 2013 and I was earning around N750,000 per month. Hearing now that some bankers are being paid N50,000 in 2023 is worrisome. I can tell you now that I am earning about 10 to 20 of that; more so, I am doing something that I like doing. I work in the engineering sector now and I am working from home. I only go to work once in a while, in short, it is the best decision that I have ever made.”

Disgruntled bankers

Latest figures obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics on ‘Deposit Money Banks’ staff strength’ reveal that the banks have 257 executive staff, 17,381 senior staff, 37,590 junior staff and 39,798 contract staff.

Many workers in the banking sector are leaving the country because they are displeased with the working conditions among other things, according to PUNCH findings.

Taiye Adeoye worked with a first generation bank for 11 years before she relocated to America in 2021.

“I was a customer service representative for about seven years and relationship manager (marketing) for the remaining time,” she says.

Speaking on her reasons for leaving Nigeria, she says, “There was no growth on the job. I was only promoted two times in 11 years, and all the records show what an excellent employee I was.”

She also laments how she was given unrealistic targets.

Adeoye says, “Where will get between N800m and N4bn deposit, with the state of Nigeria’s economy?  Or where will find people and businesses to get and repay loans with the massive layoffs and businesses folding up?

“I went into early labour because I was under intense pressure of how to cover a N600m deposit gap at year end! Almost losing my life for an organisation that will move on without a mini-second interval if I died!”

Complaining about insecurity in the country, she worries that, “Kidnapping now seems normal and no one seems to care. My brother was kidnapped some years ago and when a report was made, all the police had to say was that they did not have fuel to go out, so we should bring money. It only shows me that the live of a Nigerian citizen is worth nothing.”

The former Nigerian banker expressed concerns over Nigeria’s healthcare sector.

According to her, “My experience with government hospitals opened my eyes to the level of poverty I never knew existed in Nigeria. People cannot afford to buy medications that the average Nigerian will see as cheap.

“Having lived in North America for some years, I am even more traumatised and bitter that the things Nigerians go through daily and see as normal. I now realise that my work experience in Nigeria was filled with verbal abuse and highest levels of toxicity.

“I honestly do not care if the Nigerian banks are losing the brightest tech minds. It serves them right! It will teach them to treasure the experienced employees they still have. Anyway, the mass exodus will create room for new university graduates since not everyone can relocate. Or, where will the young ones get the usual 10 years’ experience companies always ask for?”

Displeased customers

The President of the Association of Small Business Owners in Nigeria, Dr Femi Egbesola, worries that good hands are leaving the Nigerian banking sector, while the small and medium-scale enterprises are recipients of poor services offered by the banks.

He says, “The good hands in the banks are leaving which is why we have a lot of challenges in their tech and digital system. This is a signal that the youths do not have confidence in the economy and government, and it will continue if the government does not do anything to address this.

It is unfortunate that the government is going out to look for investors, while those who supposed to be in business and encouraged to scale up are leaving the country in droves.”

He worries that it is becoming increasing challenging to have competent hands to replace workers, mostly in the IT sector, which is having a negative toll on everybody.

The Vice President, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, South-West Region, Solomon Aderoju, says a lot of things contribute to epayment failures.

He says, “Infrastructural deficiency and high cost of operation are there too, there is a lot of scams affecting people’s confidence

“Again, banks are not proactive to respond to your case because of the volume of complaints they receive and they don’t have enough staff. They use contract staff who are not satisfied.”

Bankers worry

Operators in the banking sector are not unaware of the effects of workers exodus.

In fact, findings by The PUNCH reveal that Nigerian banks are seeking $20m to urgently close technical capacity deficit in the sector, resulting from emigration of trained employees who are seeking greener pastures abroad.

Industry operators who spoke to The PUNCH disclosed that the mass exit of technical skills is responsible for lots of failed transactions as well as the cyber-fraud challenges bank depositors have been grappling with.

According to a top official of one of the Deposit Money Banks who would not want to be quoted, increasing cases of tech skills who are resigning suddenly from the banks are making the banks to be helpless, hence the need to quickly fill in the gaps and provide seamless services to customers.

He says, “Most of the failed transactions and cases of hackers stealing customers’ monies are because many of the competent hands are leaving the banks. These hackers too are building their skills as the banks beef up protections; they take advantage of every loophole. That is why banks are looking for good tech workers to reduce these incidences.

“Banks are motivating the tech workers above others in order to keep them in service. In fact, these tech workers are very well paid by the banks, even more than other professionals; they are better-taken care of. Yet, some of them still leave the job and relocate out of the country without giving the banks notice.”

However, findings show some operators in the banking sector are still keeping in touch with their former employees who are currently overseas.

This has created some form of opportunities for them to still work for Nigerian banks in areas where work-from-home arrangement is possible.

The Head, Digital Banking at UBA, Olukayode Olubiyi, observes that technical emigration is a concern in the banking industry.

However, he says, operators are attracting young graduates and training them, giving them exposure to get capacity, and motivating them to stay for a few years, even if they have to leave.

While noting that brilliant tech workers have left the banking industry for greener pastures, he says, “Some of them are doing remote work for banks in the country from abroad.”

However, he adds that it is not always greener out there.

$20m-skill fund

According to a report by the President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Ken Opara, on the 2022 banking activities exclusively obtained by The PUNCH, banks are seeking to raise $20m to bridge the tech skills gap in the sector.

“The emigration of skilled workers, called the ‘japa’ syndrome has highly impacted the industry’s skill base and execution capabilities, especially in critical areas that include information, communication technology,” Opara says.