Nigeria’s frontline bank, Access Bank is giving out interest-free loan to SMEs, which it tagged TraderLife after the bank came under fire over its role in freezing accounts belonging to #EndSARS protesters.
“Now more than ever, we remain committed to our purpose of impacting lives positively. In light of the recent occurrences, we will be supporting Nigerian businesses with N50 Billion interest-free loans and grants. Watch this space for more information,” Access Bank told its customers.
The bank announced this after Nigerians on social media decided to boycott it for allowing itself to be used against #EndSARS agitators.
It issued a grovelling apology. The apology rather than calming frayed nerves opened the bank up for further criticisms.
“We want to express our sympathy for the inconvenience that eight of our customers are going through due to the restrictions on their accounts as mandated by a federal court order. We are eager for this to be resolved as soon as possible,” the bank said.
“It is common knowledge that we and the entire banking industry are regulated entities and therefore operate under the authority of our regulators and law enforcement agencies. As such we are compelled to comply with regulatory directives.
“While acknowledging the concern of all well-meaning parties, we urge that enquiries and views be channelled to the relevant regulatory and judicial agencies where the matter is receiving attention.
“It is therefore surprising that some individuals still choose to target Access Bank negatively despite not being the source of the action.”
But experts believe that Access bank goofed.
According to them, Access Bank should have challenged the court order and if it loses, it would have at least convinced the public that it is on the side of the customers.
That is not the first time the bank is coming under the hammer for alleged anti-customer behaviour. Earlier this year, it was slammed by its customers for charging accumulated Stamp Duty charges in one fell swoop.
As usual, it apologized and promised to bear the cost of the accumulated duty charges.
The story of Access Bank is not different from what brands in Nigeria do – pander to every government policy no matter how hurtful such policy would be to their brand.
Why try to lure MSMEs after it has messed up?
Journalist and brand analyst, Emmanuel Ekeocha believes Access Bank should have done more than the smokescreen approach it adopted.
“That apology did more harm than good,” said Ekeocha. According to him, the bank should have stood by its customers by challenging the court order. It may not win, it would win the hearts of the banking public.
“The customer remains the single reason any business is in business. If the perception is that you can hurt them at any time or that you can cave in to any policy of the government, you create trust issues,” Ekeocha said.
And trust is what banks in Nigeria are struggling to achieve with their customers. Many customers said they have woken up to arbitrary debit from their accounts and the reason given by their banks is either unpleasant or vague.
This latest gesture by Access Bank falls short.
