... non-performing loans hit N490bn

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Deposit Money Banks have agreed to commence immediate publication of the details of debtors who fail to meet their loans obligations in the newspapers.
At the end of the 322nd  Bankers' Committee Meeting in Abuja, yesterday, it was resolved that all serial bank debtors must be published latest, August 1, 2015.

Speaking after the meeting yesterday, CBN Director of Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, said there is currently about N13 trillion credit in the market out of which about N490 billion, equivalent to 3 per cent, are nonperforming.

 "The total credit is about N13 trillion.  About 3 per cent of that is not performing and August 1, 2015 is the deadline  for publishing the list of debtors," the director said.

 Mrs. Martins noted that the upper limit of nonperforming loans as a percentage of total credit was 5 per cent and as such, the 3 per cent figure was an indication that the banking system was stable and within the approved limit.

Unity Bank has already given notice to its debtors on its intention to publish the list of bad debtors from next Monday, June 15, 2015. 

Speaking at the meeting, Group Managing Director of Unity Bank, Mr. Henry Semenitari, said his bank resolved to start publishing as a measure to compel the customers to pay back the loans and the timing is within the approval limit.

The Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Jibril J. Aku, said the foreign exchange market has now been stable with the CBN and the banks able to meet every legitimate demand.

According to him, the banks are not in any way engaged in speculations because there is no window for them to do so with the recent policy by the CBN.

"Every demand had to be properly analysed to ensure that the foreign loan to be obtained was for purposes that were in line with laid down regulations."

In his contribution, Mr. Philips Oduoza of UBA disclosed that the June 30 deadline for the Bank Verification Number was sacrosanct and that customers who failed to obtain their numbers would be denied banking services such as Foreign Exchange, Credit and internet banking, among others.

According to him, 12.5 million customers have been captured in the on-going exercise and many more are expected to obtain their numbers before the deadline. 

He said that the exercise was important to provide banks with accurate data on their customers, adding that those with multiple bank accounts need to undertake the verification in one bank and then provide the others with the number which would be captured by the other banks.

His words, "If you have enrolled in a bank, you don't need another enrolment in other banks where you have accounts.  You just supply the number to the other banks.  If you don't enrol, it is possible you won't have credit, your internet services will be shut down and you won't have access to foreign exchange."