₦60 Billion in Unaudited 'Electronic Purse' Deposits Disappear From First Bank
Approximately ₦60 billion in deposits held in 'electronic purse' accounts at Nigeria's First Bank reportedly vanished without an audit note, raising serious financial governance concerns at the country's oldest and largest bank. The gap represents a significant red flag for regulators and investors monitoring Nigeria's banking sector integrity.
First Bank: ₦60 billion appeared, then vanished, and nobody said a word
A twelve-fold spike in digital wallet balances — from ₦5.4 billion to ₦65.4 billion — sits in First Bank's 2025 annual report with no name, no partner, no explanation. Then in a single quarter it's gone.
Under Nigerian Stock Exchange rules and international accounting standards, a swing that size in one deposit category requires disclosure. First Bank has offered none.
The silence is the problem. Not because the money is necessarily stolen — there are legitimate explanations, a fintech partnership that concluded, customer funds temporarily parked during a regulatory process. But 'legitimate' isn't the same as 'unexplained.' Nigeria's financial system cannot build investor confidence if its oldest bank can cycle ₦60 billion through its books without a sentence of public explanation.