WHEN BANKS DELIBERATELY DEFRAUD

Once upon a time, one of the most sacred earthly and official relationship between human beings was the one between banks and their customers. It never used to cross any customers mind that banks can be fraudulent.

Now, however, only one destined to be set up as the next mugu (wealthy fool) will go to sleep believing that banks can not be deliberately fraudulent.

For example, the German big bank, Deutsche Bank, according to reports, is now battling to stay afloat after the US department of Justice recently slammed it with $14m fine for peddling fake mortgage backed services.

This amount was twice the figure the bank had set aside for settlement of the matter and some analysts now expect Germany to offer it some bail out because of the implication for her economy should the unexpected happen.

While this was being chewed by international finance, yet another big player, Wells Fargo, was fined $185m for illegal practice of opening about 2m accounts for customers without their knowledge. All employees did was fabricate customer emails and addresses and presto, a new account was opened.

Wells Fargo, it is reported, acknowledged making mistakes and has been firing some employees over the matter.

Sure, banks and banking run into crisis of confidence and risk customer apathy and even a run, when lids like this blow open.

Here in Nigeria, it not only awakens many to potential abuses of the sacred relationship which one chief executive in Nigeria described as being like "having one on a choking hold" but also raises the spectre of what may happen to today's very fragile Nigerian economy should a Wells Fargo or Deutsche Bank drag world finance down.

In 2008, the then rough waters for almost all was rippled by Lehman Brothers going under leading to huge systematic pressure on international finance. Nigeria survived caused her reserves then were far more robust than now.

So, when next you as a customer, feel uncomfortable with the Central Bank of Nigeria's vibrant insistence on know your customer practice, remember even banks now open fake accounts in the names of customers without the customers knowledge.

That does not augur well for any economy.

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