Access Bank PLC is planning to cut salaries of its workers to prevent job losses as lockdown occasioned by coronavirus has drastically affected its income.

Sources in the bank told Bloomberg that the reductions were expected to start from May unless business conditions improve.

The sources who said they were briefed on the matter during a conference call, said some management staff would get as much as a 40% decrease in their salaries.

A spokesman for Lagos-based Access Bank declined to comment.

Nigerian banks are facing the threat of rising bad-debt levels as a crash in oil prices and the risk of a naira devaluation coincide with the Covid-19 pandemic that has shuttered businesses.

Access Bank, which acquired rival Diamond Bank Plc last year, had 6,898 permanent staff at the end of 2019, according to a presentation on its website.

The acquisition partly contributed to a 31% increase in operating expenses. Personnel, recruitment and training costs account for more than a third of overheads after the deal boosted employee numbers and resulted in “wage harmonization” across the businesses.