The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed concern about the exploitative ways banks use their female marketers and hidden charges during transactions.

Mr Gbajabiamila said, “Some years back, I came up with a bill against corporate prostitution, but that it did not sail through. We need to know the kind of marketing that takes place. Is it digital marketing? We also have to set realistic targets for the marketers.

“We have the responsibility to protect Nigerians, and we also have the responsibility not to kill your business, so it is a delicate situation.”

Speaking on the issue of hidden bank charges, the lawmaker pointed out, “One of the issues at stake is the rate at which banks charge customers. There are claims that banks have hidden charges.

“This has come up a couple of times on the floor of the House, and it is something we should look into.”

Mr Gbajabiamila said this when he hosted the Board and Management of the Standard Chartered Bank, led by the Chief Executive Officer, Lamin Manjang, on Monday in Abuja.

The speaker said apart from charges known to the customers, there appeared to be other hidden charges that the banks imposed on their customers.

He stated that the House was concerned that such a practice was making customers helpless while calling on Nigerian banks to come up with ways to address high charges on loans and other facilities they offered.

Mr Gbajabiamila also expressed concern about the exploitative marketing some banks’ marketers are subjected to.

“You have corporations in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, what obtains here in terms of banking, in terms of marketing.

“Sending people to go and knock at people’s offices and all that; does it obtain in those places?” he asked.

The CEO of the bank, responding to the allegation of exploitative marketing, said banks could market their products to the customers but it had to be ethical.

“It’s not peculiar to Nigeria, but it has to be ethical. Teams usually go round, but ethical conduct has to be there.

“You need to have marketing for people to know what you offer. If there are any abuses or conducts that are not ideal, they should be called out and addressed,” he added.

(NAN)