Some Deposit Money Banks on Monday (today)
commenced the publication of the names of
their delinquent debtors, with 269 companies
and a few individuals owing four of the banks
N70.51bn.

Our correspondent gathered that the 269 firms
and the few individuals, who owed Skye Bank
Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and
Fidelity Bank Plc, had failed to service their
loans for at least 365 days, thus forcing the
banks to categorise them as non-performing
loans.

Although the list includes firms with non-
performing loans of 10 years and above, over 70
per cent of the debtors took the loans in the
last three to four years.

More banks, it was learnt on Sunday, would
publish the names of their debtors with non-
performing loans during the week.

Going by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive,
all the 19 banks as well as discount houses in
the country are expected to publish the names
of their delinquent debtors by August ending.

The publication of the debtors’ names follows
the expiration of the July 31, 2015 deadline set
by the CBN for the banks and discount houses to
publish the names of debtor-companies, their
subsidiaries and directors in national
newspapers.

The central bank had on April 22 directed the
financial institutions to commence the
publication from August 1.

Banks and discount houses are to publish the
names in at least three national newspapers on
a quarterly basis.

In line with the directive, the banks gave the
chronic debtors a three-month grace period,
which expired on July 31.

While Skye Bank and Fidelity Bank had
published their debtors’ lists on Monday
(today), Sterling Bank and Diamond Bank were
forced to withdraw their lists at the last minute
on Sunday for further reviews after some of the
debtors made efforts to renegotiate their loans
at the weekend.

Fidelity Bank, which has about N6.66bn as the
total published NPL figure, has a telecoms
company, Starcomms, topping its list of
delinquent debtors with approximately N3bn
debt.

Other companies on the list are mostly energy,
oil and gas companies. The total number of
debtors on the list is 28.
Skye Bank, which had about N13.3bn in the NPLs,
published 107 names of debtor companies and
individuals.

Sterling Bank is owed about N3.37bn by workers’
unions, consultancy firms and other companies.
The number of its delinquent debtors is 61.

Diamond Bank has about N47.17bn as the total
NPL figure, with oil and gas companies,
construction firms, state government investment
companies and a state House of Assembly
topping the list. The delinquent debtors’ list
comprises 173 names.

The big names of popular Nigerians that
characterised the 2009 list are so far absent on
the current list. This is because the Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria has bought
the debts.

However, AMCON has said it will publish the
names of its debtors in line with the current CBN
directive.

The PUNCH had reported on Sunday that over 19
banks and discount houses operating in the
country would publish the names of more than
1,600 debtors this week or before the end of
August deadline given by the CBN.

Officials of financial institutions had confirmed
to our correspondents on Saturday that they
would publish the names of the debtors this week
in compliance with the CBN directive.

Also on Saturday, the CBN ruled out the possible
extension of the deadline on its directive to the
banks to publish the names of their debtors.
The Director, Corporate Communications
Department, CBN, Mr. Ibrahim Mu’azu, said
there was no extension to the deadline.

As of the weekend, the debtors were said to be
rushing to banks to renegotiate their loans.
The Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs.
‘Tokunbo Martins, had said, in a circular dated
April 22, 2015, “In order to ensure that the
industry NPL ratio does not exceed the
prudential limit of five per cent, and to
improve the credit culture in the banking
industry, banks and discount houses are
directed to observe prudent credit underwriting
and monitoring standards.”

The debtors are those whose accounts have been
classified as lost and include persons, entities,
directors, subsidiaries and other related
parties, according to the central bank.

The bank had stated that delinquent debtors in
the category described above would be
blacklisted and “banned from participating in
the Nigerian foreign exchange market and in
the Nigerian government securities market.”

The PUNCH had on March 15, 2015 reported that
the volume of the NPLs in the Nigerian banking
industry was set to rise further on the back of
the devaluation of the naira amid weak global
crude oil prices.

Global rating agency, Fitch Ratings, had in
February, after the second round of
devaluation of the currency, predicted that the
banks’ non-performing loans would rise above
the CBN’s five per cent limit by the end of this
year, but below 10 per cent.

It said this reflected high credit concentrations
as well as emerging risks, particularly in the oil
and gas, and power sectors, adding that banks
were likely to report weaker profitability, asset
quality and capital ratios.

In 2009, the Federal Government spent about
N5tn to buy the NPLs from banks to save them
from imminent collapse.

AMCON, the government agency created after
the 2009 banking crisis, was the special purpose
vehicle used to acquire the NPLs from the
banking sector.

Source: Punch Newspaper

And these banks will refuse to loan a young entrepreneur just 300 thousand.. Good luck with getting back these huge loans.

You see ya self?

Dey ar hold you now big big money.