…identifies fraud, lack of skill as causes of failure of financial institutions

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

ONITSHA –  The Main market axis of the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State, came alive on Friday as a major finance company operating in the commercial city, FundTrust Multipurpose Cooperative Society, conducted a roadshow to celebrate their breakthrough in financial management in three years in the city. Both the management and staff moved slowly in a motorcade with band along major streets in Onitsha for over two hours to the amazement of the traders and their esteemed customers.

FundTrust Multipurpose Cooperative Society during the roadshow in Onitsha

Speaking to newsmen shortly after the roadshow, its Managing Director, Chief Silas Ifeanyi, identified fraud and lack of skills in financial management as the major causes of crashes among some financial institutions in the country. Ifeanyi who is a retired banker, regretted that most of the financial institutions owned by both government and individuals or groups have either closed down or unstable, thereby frittering away huge sums of money owned by their various depositors and customers.

He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to regulate the financial market properly to avoid becoming a free for all comers, adding that for a financial institution to survive and carry its customers along, it must have core values which borders on empowerment, protection of customers\money, adequate skills, integrity and adequate capital without relying on customers\deposits.

According to him, “some of the operators are pure fraudsters who engage in thrift business and are not sincere.  They just come into the business to defraud. Their initial intent was not to serve anybody. Some just came to steal.”

Ifeanyi who was a one-time general manager of one of the most popular banks in the country, stated that dishonesty is also found among the customers, said that integrity and honesty are very expensive as some people who took loan default, necessitating the change in their strategy.

Chief Ifeanyi, said, however, that his company has demonstrated enough integrity and trust in the last three years they have been in operation, hence the huge confidence reposed on them by their ever increasing customers.

He said in the last three years, they have moved from one branch to 10 branches located in various markets in and around Onitsha metropolis with about 150 staff and 5,000 customers, out of which about 2,000 of them are currently on their loan scale.

He said: “We deal with the unbankable amounts. There are some amount of money you will take to the bank and they would not talk to you but here we accept such unbankable monies, be it N50 or N100.

“In fact, we do go to them and take their money and give them their money whenever they need it. We also give them loans. These are artisans, market women. We provide financial services to the poor. We give all sorts of loans, including property loan. We mop up money and bring them to the bank. We provide services no bank can provide. We go and collect money and deliver it whenever they want it.

“For us here, we regard deposits as liability as they have their own capital they operate with. We want the government to educate the people about the danger of fraudulent thrift business by some operators as well as regulate the market since there is lack of regulation of the market now.”

Chief Ifeanyi equally stressed the need for the training of staff to ensure effective service delivery to customers which is one of their core values. “Our customers are the reason we are here.We tailor our business towards the needs of our customers. This has worked out for us here. In three years, we have broken even. We intend to expand beyond Onitsha to Enugu, Abuja, Lagos, where we will be partnering with the locals. We are planning to introduce ATM cards. We have plans to make the business bigger than what it is now,” he said.