Written by Olushola Okunlade

Sterling Bank PLC has stated why it did not disburse the N6 million in the N200 denomination found in its vault in its Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State branch.

The bank explained on Sunday after a viral video surfaced on social media indicating new naira notes worth N6 million in its vault.

Following the discovery of officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who stormed the bank premises unannounced to discover new N200 notes worth N6 million inside the vault of the bank.

The official, who identified himself simply as Owoeye, a Deputy Director, made the discovery public, ordering that the branch must commence the dispensing of the money the following morning at the latest.

In a statement on Sunday, Sterling Bank PLC said at the time the fund was discovered, it was yet to configure its Automated Teller Machine for the dispensing of N200 notes.

It said the new N1,000 and N500 notes in its possession at the time had been disbursed.

The statement, titled: “New Notes Distribution At Ado-Ekiti Branch,” said: “We would like to state the facts surrounding our branch in Ado Ekiti formally.

“The Naira notes referenced were received prior to the re-configuration of the branch’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to dispense the 200 Naira denomination.

“On January 23, 2023, a regulatory official visited our branch in Ado-Ekiti and the vault contained N 6,000,000 in N200 denominations.

“During the visit, the official observed that we had run out of N1,000 and N500 notes on that day and were unable to load the N200 as the ATMs had not yet been configured to dispense N200 notes.

“At the time of the visit, the subsisting instruction was that the newly designed notes were not to be dispensed over the counter.

“All our ATMs have been dispensing the available quantities of the N1000 and N500 denominations of the newly designed currency as received since the commencement of the policy. We have also successfully reconfigured our ATMs nationwide to dispense N200 notes.

“All denominations can now be withdrawn from our ATMs and over the counter in line with a regulatory pronouncement on February 2, 2023.

“We hereby confidently assure the public that the branch was not hoarding any funds and that Sterling remains at the forefront of ensuring that this exercise is a resounding success.

“Together, we will all overcome this inconvenience and come out stronger.”

Sterling Bank Plc. statement received by BusinessEcho Magazine reads

New Notes Distribution At Ado-Ekiti Branch: We would like to formally state the facts surrounding our branch in Ado Ekiti.

1. The Naira notes referenced were received prior to the re-configuration
   of the branch’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to dispense the 200
   Naira denomination.
2. On January 23, 2023, a regulatory official visited our branch in Ado-Ekiti and the vault contained N 6,000,000 in N 200 denominations.
3. During the visit, the official observed that we had run out of N1,000
   and N500 notes on that day and were unable to load the N200 as the
   ATMs had not yet been configured to dispense N200 notes.
4. At the time of the visit, the subsisting instruction was that the newly
   designed notes were not to be dispensed over the counter.
5. All our ATMs have been dispensing the available quantities of the
   N1000 and N500 denominations of the newly designed currency as
   received since the commencement of the policy. We have also
   successfully reconfigured our ATMs nationwide to dispense N200 notes.
6. All denominations can now be withdrawn from our ATMs and over the
   counter in line with regulatory pronouncement on February 2, 2023.
   We hereby confidently assure the public that the branch was not hoarding
   any funds and that Sterling remains at the forefront of ensuring that this
   exercise is a resounding success.
   Together, we will all overcome this inconvenience and come out stronger.
   Ademola Adesina
   Public Relations and News Management