According to a report by TheCable, the financial institution has laid off over a hundred staff with full benefits paid to affected staff.

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Stressing that any financial institution that flouts the directive will be severely dealt with by the Federal Government, Ngige said such actions would be seen as illegal.

In his words, “Following spate of petitions and complaints from stakeholders in the banking, insurance and financial institutions, I hereby direct the suspension of the on-going retrenchment pending the outcome of the conciliatory meetings in the industry,” he had said in a statement late Friday.

'n this wise, all the retrenchments and redundancies done in the last four months and all proposed ones should be put on hold pending the outcome of the proposed stakeholders’ summit for the banking, insurance and financial institutions’ employers and employees, slated for July 2,' the minister said.

According to financial experts, the current economic meltdown had had a compelling effect on financial institutions to move into down-sizing.