The Nation Newspaper

Tag: non-performing

  • ‘Vote out non-performing politicians’

    THE Forum of Intellectuals of Delta State for Good Governance (FIDAGG), yesterday, urged the electorate to choose based on performance by major parties in office.

    FIDAGG listed core issues to help Nigerians make informed decisions in the general election as the fight against corruption, economy, education, and restructuring.

    The academics, drawn from institutions across the country, spoke at a symposium in Asaba, with the theme: “Consolidating Democracy and the Imperative for Good Governance.”

    FIDAGG’s Chairman of Research and Strategy Prof Andy Egwunyenga, in an address, noted that sustainable democracy was hinged on the commitment of parties to internal democracy, stressing that the fallouts of primaries in some states showed weak internal structures in parties.

    Egwunyenga said Nigeria’s democracy would be measured with regard to critical ingredients as rule of law, supremacy of the constitution, fundamental human rights, free and fair polls and majority rule, as well as tolerance of minority opinion.

    Read also: State Of The Nation: Buhari versus Atiku: How states will vote

    Other factors are internal democracy within parties, separation of power, virile civil society and economic independence.

    He said sustainable democracy could be achieved through good governance, adding that a major prerequisite was political inclusion, press freedom , separation of powers through a responsive executive and independent legislature as well as judiciary.

    The chairman said civil organisations were weak today compared with their roles in restoring democracy in 1993 and 1999.

    Prof S.O Aghalino said Nigeria’s quest for good governance had been elusive due to the commercialisation of politics.

  • ‘I want to replace our non-performing 79-year old Rep’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives aspirant Akinlayo Kolawole speaks on his bid to represent Ekiti North Constituency II in this interview with reporters in Ado Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State. Excerpts:

    You just ventured into politics and you want to pick a ticket to the House of Representatives?

    I have been an active member of the party, though I have been playing underground. I came fully into the APC in January and shortly after, I unveiled my intention to contest for House of Representatives to represent Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, comprising Ido/Osi, Moba and Ilejemeje Local governments.

    It is not actually the time you join a party that matters, but your worth and contributions since you joined. The governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, who defected back to the PDP recently, won election on APC’s platform in 2015 barely one month after joining the party.

    The governor was given the ticket based on his worth and not when he joined the party. When I joined the APC, the party was so docile in my constituency. I had to mobilise the people doing; what I was supposed to do to bring the party back to life. I moved from one ward to another, sensitising our people that hope has not lost completely and the outcome reflected in the results of the July 14 governorship election, which Dr Kayode Fayemi won. Apart from this, I worked for the emergence of Dr. Fayemi at the primary.

    What are your chances of securing the ticket?

    Let me first say the APC’s chances are very high in that constituency, because the 79 year old man, Thaddeus Aina, who is representing the constituency now, has not given effective representation. He has not called a meeting once to tell his people what he has done. Apart from this, he has not raised any motion or sponsored any bill or even contribute to discussions on the floor of the National Assembly since 2015 when he was elected. Is that what we call representation? Our people are ready to change and that will happen in 2019. They need a very active youth and that they have seen in me. Regarding the APC ticket, I know I have a good chance. Our leaders; Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and Chief Segun Oni, know my worth and contributions. All I want is free, fair and credible primary and once that is done, I will surely get the ticket because our people are behind me and they are supporting my aspiration.

    What have you done that makes you stand out among the aspirants?

    Before I joined our party, I have been giving out scholarships to students. I have been empowering the widows and giving out empowerments to our jobless youths, so that they can stand on their own. Since I joined the APC, I have paid WAEC  fees of 180 students in the three councils that make up our federal constituency.

    I had given bursary to 210 students of tertiary institutions. I have given empowerment to youths and social security to the elderly, these I did across the three councils. I have been encouraging our youths on how to be focused and this I did by way of getting joblessness out of their lives. The recent I did was for our farmers, which I have organized into groups with access to soft loan from a fund I provided to help them expand their farms for better profit and for them to live good lives. So, whoever will contest against me must come out with his own score card of what he has done for the people. So, the contests, both primary and the general elections will be based on what you have done for the people and this stands me in a good stead to be able to clinch the ticket and wins the election eventually.

    Are you not worried that Dr. Fayemi’s victory is being challenged at the tribunal?

    That is the beauty of democracy. The Election Petition Tribunal is part of electoral process and don’t forget that Dr. Fayemi became the governor in 2010 through the same process, so we are not rattled at all. The PDP is only embarking on a wild goose chase by challenging the outcome of the election. The APC candidate won the election through free, fair and credible process. The election was never rigged. Even the PDP thought we would deploy federal might by arresting their members  the way they did in the 2014 election. But in this election, nobody was arrested, nobody was molested, it was largely won based on popularity and antecedents. There was no town out of the 133 towns that we got to that Fayemi won’t be able to point to at least  three projects unlike the PDP that concentrated all its projects in Ado and Ikere Ekiti.

    Besides, we did a vigorous campaign before the election. We did door-to-door campaign, neighbour-to-neighbour and house-to-house contacts to let our people know that the APC was better and they agreed with us. Dr. Fayemi won’t fail at the Tribunal. The PDP will come out of the litigation process empty handed because they have no sufficient grounds to upturn the verdict of Ekiti voters.

    What is your take on the defections from the APC?

    It will not affect our party depending on how our party leadership addresses the issue. It was like a coalition of forces by some politicians across the country with intention to wrest power from President Muhammadu Buhari, but such won’t affect the party in the 2019 general election. I applaud the national leadership, led by Adams Oshiomhole, for wooing Senator Godswill Akpabio to the APC. Akpabio’s defection has neutralised whatever effect Saraki and others defections must have caused the APC.

    Nigerians are desirous of having a President that has the passion to confront poverty, corruption and insurgency and only President Buhari has these antecedents among the contending forces for the race, not even Saraki or any other person has such records in his political career. Nigerians had gambled in the past by electing those without passion to govern them as Presidents, but those times had gone. What they now wanted is someone who will believe that Nigerians’ money must be spent for the commoners and not those that will see it as their own personal patrimony.

     

  • CIBN holds non-performing assets workshop

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in collaboration with the Auctioneering Faculty of The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) will hold a one-day workshop in Lagos.

    Participants at the workshop came from credit risk, operations, corporate finance, loan documentation, remedial management departments/units of banks and other financial institutions, auctioneers, realtors, valuers among others.

    The event, titled: “Panacea to Collaterised Non-Performing Assets: Bankers and Valuers Perspectives. The Workshop is scheduled as follows”, will hold tomorrow at the Bankers House, Victoria Island, Lagos. Each participants is expected to pay N20,000 even as the high incidence of non-performing assets has been as a result of many factors, including poor credit analysis skills and lending decisions, external shocks.

    In a statement, the organisers called for support for legal and regulatory environment; strong leadership; operational independence; appropriately structured incentives; and comm

    However, alternative strategies for managing and disposing of impaired assets depend on factors such as the type of asset, size and distribution, the structure of the banking system, and available management capacity in the banks and in the public sector. There is no single optimal solution but rather a combination of solutions that may vary over time.

     

  • NDIC pushes for stiffer sanctions over non-performing loans

    NDIC pushes for stiffer sanctions over non-performing loans

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has expressed concern over the increasing wave of non-performing insider loans in various banks and its consequence on the stability of the banking system.

    Its Managing Director/Chief Executive, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, spoke while receiving the new President/ Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof Segun Ajibola and some of its executive members who visited the NDIC’s senior management in Abuja.

    According to Ibrahim, the rise in non-performing insider loans poses credibility questions which can erode public confidence in the banking system.

    He called for strict compliance with the code of conduct and a review of laws and regulations to provide stiffer penalties for directors who take advantage of their positions and failed to pay back their loans.

    The NDIC chief observed that casual workers accounted for about 25 per cent of the industry’s workforce,  which has a negative impacted the industry.

    Ibrahim lamented the practice of some banks that assign sensitive roles to casual workers, thereby exposing the banking industry to cases of fraud and forgeries.

    On rationalisation by banks, Ibrahim urged the banks to exercise caution to avoid industrial unrest in the industry.

    He urged the CIBN to intervene by advising its members on the aim of the rationalisation which should be to weed out bad eggs from the industry.

    He said the NDIC would continue to partner the CIBN and other professional bodies to achieve effective capacity building among its staff.

    According to him,  77 staff members of the Corporation  are undergoing the Bangor/CB MBA programme which started three years ago.

    The Bangor/CB MBA programme is an initiative of the NDIC, the CIBN and the Bangor University, Scotland where staff of the Corporation undergo up to 24 months training programme and graduate with dual certification: an MBA and Chartered Banker of Scotland.

    Fourteen members of staff had already graduated from the programme.

    He further requested the CIBN to fast track the accreditation of the Corporation’s Training Academy and the introduction of the deposit Insurance System (DIS) in the institute’s curricula in order to broaden the scope of professionalism in the banking industry.

    Ajibola praised the Corporation for its contribution to stability in the banking system.

  • ‘Non-performing loans are unavoidable’

    ‘Non-performing loans are unavoidable’

    Chief Timothy Adesiyan is Chairman, Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf he shares his perspective on the rising incidence of non-performing loans in banks. Excerpts: 

    What do you have to say about the rising incidence of non-performing loans in banks?

    The issue of non-performing loans is not really a strange phenomenon as it were. Most times, there are provisions for non-performing loans in the company’s account. What really happen is some of these loans that are categorised as non-performing is due to the current situation in the country. There is no money in circulation and most businesses owe because they don’t have people patronising them as they used to. We only hope that things improve for the economy so that everything will return to normal again. Naturally, once there are non-performing loans, there’ll be a reduction of the profit and thereby reducing dividends for shareholders.

    Does it mean that shareholders don’t have a say in this?

    From the shareholders perspective, I’m aware for a fact that auditors are always enforcing the banks to make provision for such bad debts. It does not mean that those provisions will not be removed in future. The money will still be paid back and once they are paid those provisions will be written back in the profit and loss account of the company and will boost the profit of the accounting year the debts were recovered.

    In your view do you think non-performing loans are avoidable?

    How can you avoid them? Will you say because you don’t want to die you will avoid driving a car? Certainly not. (Laughs).  As I said, naturally because of the dwindling economy that’s why some of the loans are not performing. It never used to be so but because the economy is not doing well again that’s why they’re non-performing loans. Mind you, some of the companies are not happy that they’re even owing the banks in the first place.

    But ordinarily most of these loans are supposed to be collaterised. Is it that the banks are no longer collecting collaterals or what?

    Even if they collect collateral there can still be bad loans. What will you ask of a customer that has been dealing with a bank for over 35years? Will you say because you’re desperate to recoup your money from such a customer, you’ve to cut off his head? Cutting the head off is not remedy for a headache. When you’ve a headache what you have to do is to take paracetamol. You don’t have to cut off the neck. The people that are not performing now are the same people that have been performing before as such, we’ve to treat them with some courtesy. The main cause of the shocks is due to the volatility in the oil and gas sector.

  • We’ve recovered N22b non-performing loans, says BoA chief

    We’ve recovered N22b non-performing loans, says BoA chief

    The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has recovered about N22 billion non-performing loans between 2010 and June this year. It has also attracted N28 billion to the bank, and has created over 2.4 million jobs.  its  Managing Director,  Mohammed Santuraki has said.

    Speaking to reporters in Abuja, he said with 16 ongoing partnership with governments, ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the bank will be able to leverage funds and provide access to loans for rural farmers.

    He said: “In the last couple of years, we have recovered over N2 billion out  of the previously classified non performing loan, bringing total recoveries in the last four years to June 2014 to over N22 billion.

    “When we took over in 2010, the institution was nearly comatose due to lack of lending resources. Over the last four years, we have been able to attract additional N28 billion funding to BoA.”

    He said the bank has concluded plans to pilot Mobile Money Brand, BoA Greencash, which will be launched soon, adding that the bank is also pioneering a mobile payment system for the rural and agricultural sector.

    The card, he said, will be the standard for rural and agricultural payment system, adding that the bank will leverage the recent farmers’ registration activity of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to have access to the farmers’ data base.

    According to him, BoA has been repositioned to provide loans to small, medium, and large scale farmers to boost production and processing of produce.

    He said: “Over the last four years under my leadership, BoA has disbursed over N18 billion in loans to about 471,000 beneficiaries, creating over 2.4 million jobs. In addition, we have provided credit support of N1 billion to cassava over 6, 000 farmers under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association.

    “As part of sugar development master plan, we have collaborated with Sugar Development Council to set up a N2 billion fund to support mini sugar mills and their 1,200 out –growers.

    “Currently we have sixteen on –going partnerships with governments and other MDAs that are involved in agricultural production. “What we do with this collaboration is that we create funds with the government and other interested parties. “They put money, we put money, and then we lend the money to their farmers. And we have attracted N11 billion with respect to that.

    “We are piloting our Mobile Money Services. We call it the Green Cash. Very soon, we are going to roll it out; this is going to be the leverage system for rural farmers.”