THE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has injected a total of N679b into the three banks, which the National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took over on Friday to bring the banks to capital adequacy. The three banks are Afribank Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Springbank Plc.
This was disclosed by Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, in Lagos yesterday during the signing of the nationalisation deal by AMCON and the NDIC.
Official breakdown of the AMCON deal with regulators and bridge banks for a stake in the nationalised bank shows that Afribank received N285billion while Bank PHB got N283 billion. The remaining N111 billion went to Springbank. With this move, each of the banks is said to be 15 per cent above the required capital adequacy ratio.
The acquisition, by AMCON, was done through the three bridge banks earlier appointed to take over the management of the three banks. The negotiation, according to a press release issued by the Corporation, was carried out throughout Friday night.
It was also revealed that the Corporation has identified credible hands waiting to fill management positions of the banks.
Meanwhile, the sincerity of the government towards sustaining a private-driven economy initiated by the Obasanjo administration is under public scrutiny again, as questions are being raised about the revocation of licences of three banks 55 days to the expiration of the ultimatum earlier issued.
The Ministry of Finance, the CBN and the NDIC had announced on Friday the handing over of Afribank Nigeria Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc to bridge banks, citing absence of signs of that they would meet the deadline as major reason.
In a swift reaction, Chairman of the Society for Analytical Economics, Nigeria (SEAN), Dr. Godwin Owoh, said: “I have always said that those who manage the economy are not sure of what they are doing. There are no bases for their actions, and they have no economic justifications for their decisions. Why would you rush to take a decision you would have waited to take in two months time? It means there is no engagements apart from the ones we have seen. If the government supports this sort of decision, it means there is wide gap between the government and the people.
The Guardian
