Nigerian Banks Make Top 1000 In The World--CBN

By Nneka Nwanganga, Abuja
Governor of the CBN, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo said yesterday in Abuja that 10 Nigerian banks were among the top 1,000 banks in the world.

Soludo made this known at the 50th Anniversary International Conference of the apex bank.

"Nigeria has average capital adequacy ratio of 22 per cent, which is among the highest in the world,'' he stressed.

He said the present economic crisis would reshape the global competitive landscape, but that the CBN would continue to ensure that "our monetary policies are in line with global best practices".

This, the governor noted, would enable the Nigerian economy to achieve her full potential.

According to him, the bank will continue to place greater emphasis on enforcement of code of corporate governance.

He said the standby team of target examiners was being deployed to banks, at anytime, to ensure timely regulatory actions, if necessary.

The governor said 50 years of the bank was only a beginning and not an end for it.

He said as the country aspired to claim the 21st century, the bank in the next 50 years must be proactive in leapfrogging the financial system to ensure its success.

Soludo said the total exposure of banks to the capital market as at January 2009 was valued at N784 billion

The CBN chief noted that the amount represented 10 per cent of total loans, pointing out that what the banks were prepared to turn over to an Asset Management Company (AMCON), if such were set up by the year was N350 billion to N400 billion.

The CBN governor who spoke on the Sound Financial System and Post-consolidation of the Banking Sector, added that the asset base of the banks grew by 439.4 per cent between 2003 and March 2009.

"Branch expansion is 37 in Africa and nine outside the continent," Soludo added.

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