WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2011-04-22 Time: 11:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Kingsley Ighomwenghian
Chief Executive of Ecobank Nigeria, Jubril Aku, on Thursday in Lagos, attributed the drop in gross earnings income by banks for the year ended December 31, 2010, to the array of non-performing loans or toxic assets that still litter their books.
Non-performing loans in the banking industry is conservatively estimated at over N2 trillion, the bulk of which is concentrated in a few corporate organizations, particularly in the oil and gas industry.
Aku noted that most of the banks reported decline in earnings, because since the loans were non-performing, they were denied earnings that would have ordinarily accrued to them within the period.
“(Ecobank’s) gross earnings came down slightly, because if you have non-performing loans, you won’t charge income on that,” he stressed, adding that the bank like some of its peers suffered a 2.2 per cent dip in earnings.
The bulk of the NPLs, he continued were from intermediation in the oil & gas sector and the capital market, adding that while the capital market has remained flat over the past few years, unable to attract huge investible funds.
The oil & gas sector, the CEO noted cannot be totally avoided because of its critical role in the economy, because, whereas the nation domestic demand is 33 million litres of petrol daily, the refineries have a production shortfall of 21 million litres that must be imported.
Such import must be financed by banks, the CEO added, stressing further that “there is no way we can run away from it. We understand the business now and can manage the risk therein better.
“The oil marketers suffered genuine price loss and its more like something they have to work out with their banks,” he added.
In what may however seem that such may not be the case now, there have been reports in recent weeks suggesting that some of the debtors are shying away from their contractual obligations to the banks resulting in court case between the banks and their customers.
Access Bank had on January 10, 2011 obtained a Mareva Injunction stopping Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited and its proprietor- Femi Otedola from “selling or transferring, charging or disposing or otherwise dealing with the shares and stocks belonging to them, jointly or severally, in whatever form with any of the companies listed.”
While not disputing receipt of the facility, Zenon in a rejoinder, blamed Access Bank’s recalcitrance and unprofessional attitude for the dispute, claiming that efforts to agree on a true and realistic balance in order to redeem its indebtedness had been futile.
In a writ of summons in the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court (suit No. FHC/L/446/2011), Zenon Petroleum & Gas, accused five banks- Access Bank, First City Monument, Guaranty Trust, United Bank for Africa and Zenith, the plaintiff accused the defendants of wrongfully computing its debt (principal and interest) to N169.953 billion or $1.133 billion as of December 31, 2010.
A breakdown of the sum puts his debt to Zenith Bank at N68.109 billion; UBA, N36.862 billion; GTBank, N30.732 billion; FCMB, N18.722 billion; and Access Bank, N15.526 billion in both principal and accrued interest over the period.
The five-page writ of April 12, 2011, is believed to have been triggered by the Mareva injunction obtained by Access Bank.
Zenon in its statement of claim noted that the indebtedness is that high because of illegal and excess bank charges inclusive of interest debited to its accounts by the banks.
Original date published: 21 April 2011
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201104220293.html?viewall=1