NDIC says all Nigerian banks are healthy

The Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Umar Ibrahim, said on Tuesday that all banks in the country were sound.
Ibrahim said this in Lagos at the ongoing three-day workshop of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI).

The managing director, who was reacting to a report in some newspapers that only five banks in Nigeria were healthy, said that the assessment was defective.

“The fact that some banks were marginally ill did not mean that they were not healthy.

“What was misquoted to be unhealthy was derived from our 2011 Annual Report which does not reflect the true position of banks at the moment, “ he said.

Ibrahim said that currently all banks in Nigeria were healthy and sound, adding that the NDIC was adopting ingenious measures to resolve bank liquidation.

“The bridge bank option we adopted in 2011 to address the issue of bank failures is novel within the African Regional Committee, “ he said.

Ibrahim said that the greater part of the challenges being faced by the corporation was related to bank liquidation.

He said that there were loopholes in the NDIC Act that bank owners often exploited to scuttle the liquidation process initiated by the corporation.

The NDIC boss also said that funding of the corporation's activities still posed a serious threat to its operations.

He said that NDIC was looking for aids from the World Bank to enable it develop a framework to perform its statutory function.

John Chikura, Chief Executive of Deposit Protection Corporation in Zimbabwe, said that deposit insurance had become an integral part of securing depositors' money globally.

He said that deposit insurance contributed to the overall growth of any economy.

“About 100 countries have adopted explicit deposit insurance systems.

“The significant increase reflects the global recognition of the role of deposit insurance systems in promoting and enhancing financial stability, “ he said.NAN