I just came across the story below on the Reuters Wire.My first reaction was to ask when it became a crime for a female banker to be good looking and attractive.
A quick visit to the homepages of all Nigerian bank Websites however revealed that 18 of the 25, ( that's a good 70% plus) prominently displayed such beautiful women. Will the Senate President's 'order' also have an effect on this aspect of Bank's marketing efforts too?
Nigerian banks told to stop using women to lure clients
Thu 13 Sep 2007, 8:41 GMT
ABUJA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Nigerian banks must stop using attractive women to persuade customers to open accounts, Senate President David Mark was quoted as saying in Thursday's newspapers.
Mark said that despite a consolidation of the sector in 2005 that reduced the number of banks to 25 from 89 and was supposed to make them more efficient, many banks still used women to attract new business.
"Banks have made it a policy to employ beautiful ladies and give them targets to meet," Mark said during the inauguration of the new Senate committee on banking and insurance on Wednesday.
"This is unacceptable and must stop. You ordered the consolidation, so I think you must do something to stop it," he said, addressing officials of the central bank.
"We thought that with the consolidation in the banking sector, the banks will have enough money and capacity to get customers. Why is it that all these girls are now moving around hustling as if they are looking for something other than money?"
The consolidation, triggered by the central bank's decision to raise the minimum capital base for banks twelvefold, has been hailed by the Nigerian government as one of the major successes of a broader programme of economic reforms.
Banking stocks have boomed on the Lagos stock market since the consolidation, but analysts say many of the banks remain weak because they are reliant on deposits from government agencies and do little retail business.
Photo Credit : www.ecobank.com
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