A sectoral performance report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at the weekend shows that 44,664 contract employees of commercial banks at the beginning of 2020 has been cut to 39,573 as of the end of September 2020.
A total of 2,359 in the junior cadre were either fired or resigned from their positions, while senior position holders who account for 18.5 percent of the workforce, trimmed to 564. However, the number of commercial bank executive staffers rose by 37 percent from 153 to 210.
The average job loss across the various cadre of the banking sector from January to September is estimated to fall within 7,957.
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Over the nine month period, merchant banks recorded a net staff balance of -73 while the non-interest banks increased their workforce by 308.
The wage bill of three major segments of the financial services sector, echnically described as money deposit banks (MDBs), dropped by 7,722.
On Tuesday, the Acting Director Corporate Communications, CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, reiterated the CBN’s warning that no bank employee should be sacked. He assured the CBN would review the NBS statistics to ascertain its authenticity.
Informed sources of the banking sector’s human capital requirement stated that the rising manpower deficit was only a part of the evolving challenge. They disputed that the harm was more in the ongoing work rationing, which allows employees to alternate duties as part of the measures to comply with COVID-19 protocols.
“No bank has operated at full capacity since lockdown was lifted. There has been rationing of employees, meaning that you are supposed to work harder to cover up for your colleagues who are not available in the office.
“If you are not in the office, you are expected to work from home. But, in practical terms, you still need those who are present in the office to assist you. This has increased the pressure on human capacity,” a source observed.
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