Only 10 Banks Are Sound - NDIC

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has rated 10 banks out of the 24 banks in the country, sound in 2012. In its Annual Report and Statement of Account for last year, the corporation affirmed that the sector was relatively stable in 2012 as no bank was found to be unsound as at December 31, 2012. But it declined to name the banks adjudged sound.

Also, a total of 3,380 fraud cases involving the sum of ₦17.97 billion with expected/contingent loss of about ₦4.52 billion in 2012 were recorded in the period under review while the expected/contingent loss had increased by ₦455 million or 10.9 per cent as against ₦4.072 billion reported in 2011. Notwithstanding the 43.7 per cent increase in the number of reported fraud cases from 2,352 in 2011 to 3,380 in 2012, the amount involved decreased by 36.4 per cent from ₦28.40 billion in 2011 to ₦18.04 billion in 2012.

“In the year under review, the licences of 24 Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) which had hitherto closed shop and were unable to meet obligations to their depositors and creditors were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and NDIC was subsequently appointed as liquidator. As at December 2012, 310 out of the 323 Microfinance Banks (MFBs) that rendered returns had met the minimum paid-up capital of ₦20 million. A total of 302 MFBs had capital adequacy ratio of more than 10 per cent. The remaining 555 did not render returns and that situation continued to be a source of concern to NDIC as it was impossible to assess their financial condition and performance on a continuous basis during the year under review,” the report said.

The corporation also paid a cumulative sum of ₦6.82 billion to 528,212 insured depositors of closed banks by December 31, 2012 as against ₦6.68 billion paid to 527,942 insured depositors as at December 31, 2011.

Similarly, the report noted, a total sum of N2.505 billion was paid to 75,322 verified depositors of 95 out of 103 closed MFBs during the year as against the sum of ₦2.249 billion paid to 72,062 verified depositors in 2011 whereas the sum of N73.58 billion had been paid as liquidation dividend to 250,209 depositors of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) as at December 31, 2012.

“It is pertinent to indicate that a total of 14 out of the 34 banks-in-liquidation prior to 2006 had declared a final dividend of 100 per cent of their total deposits, indicating that all depositors of the affected closed banks had fully recovered their deposits” it said.