July 12, 2015/ Punch

A cumulative amount of N26.75bn has been recovered from debtors of liquidated banks, the latest statistics obtained from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation have showed.

The corporation, in its 2014 annual Report and Statement of Account for the banking sector, indicated that the amount was N1.44bn higher than what was collected from the bank debtors in the 2013 financial year.

For the microfinance banking segment of the financial sector, the report said a cumulative amount of N127.64m was recovered from debtors within the 2014 financial period as against N44.98m in 2013.

Other highlights of the report made available to our correspondent on Friday showed that the total number of closed Deposit Money Banks increased from 48 in 2013 to 49 in 2014 just as the number of banks in liquidation increased to 46 in 2014 from 45 in 2013.

The increase, it added, was due to the revocation of the operating licence of African International Bank Limited by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Other banks whose licences were revoked are Financial Merchant Bank Limited, Kapital Merchant Bank, Alpha Merchant Bank, United Commercial Bank, Abacus Merchant Bank, Allied Bank, Century Merchant Bank, Commerce Bank Plc, Continental Merchant Bank Plc and Crown Merchant Bank.

It said, “The total number of closed DMBs increased to 49 in 2014 from 48 in 2013 while the number of banks in liquidation increased to 46 in 2014 from 45 in 2013.

“The increase was due to the revocation of the operating licence of African International Bank Limited by the CBN. The CBN revoked the licences of 84 MFBs. Following that development, the number of the MFBs in-liquidation increased from 103 in 2013 to 187 in 2014.

“While the NDIC had since commenced the liquidation activities of the 84 MFBs recently closed, the liquidation activities of the 103 MFBs whose licences were revoked by the CBN in September 2010 continued.

“As of December 31, 2014, the locations of eight MFBs out of 103 MFBs closed in 2010 could not be traced, indicating that the NDIC had successfully closed 95.

“The sums of ?163.85bn and ?6.99bn were due from the various customers of 46 DMBs and 187 MFBs in-liquidation, respectively as of December 31, 2014.

“The cumulative recoveries from the debtors of the DMBs and MFBs as of December 31, 2014 were ?26.75bn and ?127.64m compared to ?25.31bn and ?44.98m, respectively recovered as of December 31, 2013.”

The report said the corporation continued with the payment of insured deposits to depositors of closed Primary Mortgage Institutions (banks) in 2014, noting that the cumulative payment of N2.02m had been made to 30 verified depositors of closed PMIs in 2014.

For insured depositors of the DMBs, the report said the sum of N94.74bn was paid as liquidation dividend to 250,592 depositors in 2014, compared to N93.51bn paid to 250,497 depositors as of December 31, 2013.

This amount, it noted, included the uninsured portion of private sector depositors of 11 out of the 13 banks closed in the post-consolidation era, which was funded by the CBN.

In terms of the financial condition of banks, the report put the unaudited profit-before-tax of the banking industry at ?601.02bn, representing an increase of 11.31 per cent over ?539.97bn reported in 2013.

However, it added that the return on assets and return on equity declined marginally by 1.7 per cent and 1.76 per cent from 2.33 per cent and 20.71 per cent to 2.29 per cent and 20.34 per cent in 2013 and 2014, respectively.