As recovery of idle funds gains steam: BICEC transfers over six billion FCFA to Deposit & Consignment Fund.

The action falls in line with prescriptions of a decision of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, of December 1, 2023. 

The text had given banks a six-month deadline to transfer idle funds into the coffers of CDEC.The deadline expired on May 31, 2024.

Present at Tuesday’s working session was the Deputy Director General of CDEC, Soppo Etama Anne Genevieve, and the Director General of BICEC Bank, Outman Roqdi. Both personalities put pen on paper to formalise the transfer from BICEC.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Deputy Director General of CDEC, saluted BICEC for aligning itself with the laws in force. 

Soppo Etame said the transfer will help boost the operationalisation of CDEC. She started that her institution will remain a client of BICEC and enjoy all benefits that come with partnerships.

The Director General of BICEC, for his part, indicated that the funds will remain at BICEC in a special account opened in the name of CDEC. 

Outman Roqdi also disclosed that more transfers could be made in the coming months, depending on the treatment of the volume of information at the disposal of BICEC bank.

A release from the Richard Evina Obam-led CDEC, issued at the end of yesterday’s working session, indicated that BICEC transferred 600,969,798 FCFA to the fund. 

The release also indicated that BICEC took the engagement to immediately close some 6,144 inactive accounts that meet the conditions for the transfer of money found in them to the competent state institution that CDEC is.

The CDEC release also indicated that what was transferred yesterday is the first part of what both institutions were able to find common ground at the end of exchanges. 

A breakdown of the over six billion shows that guarantees on public contracts in 169 accounts worth 1,101,585,337 FCFA was surrendered to CDEC.

Others are money placed in escrow accounts worth 6,633,629 FCFA, found in two bank accounts and funds made unavailable as a result of an investigation or judicial inquiry, to the tune of 1,237,493,147 found in 123 accounts. 

There is also money from dormant company accounts amounting to 614,699,390 FCFA that was found in 205 accounts, cash from private dormant cheque accounts to the tune of 3,049,386,453 FCFA from 5,643 accounts and cash from the liquidation of public enterprises, worth 171,842 from two accounts.

Funds surrender gaining momentum

To note that since the May 31, 2024, deadline, which the Prime Minister set in a decision of December 1, 2023 expired, more financial institutions have been surrendering idle funds to CDEC. 

On June 7, it was the commercial bank, Société Commerciale de Banque Cameroun, SCB Cameroun, that reached an agreement with CDEC to surrender at least 4.6 billion FCFA.

The deal reached with SCB Cameroun entailed the immediate closure of 11,165 inactive accounts of different categories. 

These included 2,189 individual cheque accounts, 8,729 savings accounts, and 247 corporate current accounts. 

In addition to these, SCB Cameroun also agreed to settle a bill of 291,311, 580 FCFA in unclaimed assets.

On May 31, it was Credit Foncier du Cameroun and the Standard Chartered Bank that signed separate protocol agreements with CDEC for the transfer of idle funds worth 3.3 billion FCFA. 

While Standard Chartered Bank transferred 2,449 billion FCFA, Credit Foncier du Cameroun surrendered at least 910 million FCFA.

The Cameroon branch of the Bank of Central African States, BEAC, had on May 29 this year, handed over 3.9 billion FCFA, being money in dormant accounts to the Deposit and Consignments Fund.

In the face of the renewed response from banks, the Director General of CDEC, Richard Evina Obam, has continued to drum the need for all financial institutions to play by the rules in force.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No 3139 of Wednesday June 12, 2024