No Nigerian Bank Is Near Distress, NDIC Says

Every Nigerian bank is currently healthy and on sound footing, the Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, has indicated,.

The NDIC Boss stated this on Thursday, reassuring members of the public to ignore rumours being circulated that some banks were in financial distress.

NDIC position was made public in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr Hadi Birchi in Abuja, stressing Ibrahim’s declaration, debunking the rumour, during a visit by the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI), Abuja chapter.

Alhaji Ibrahim specifically noted that the rumour which circulated through text messages and social media was to de-market certain banks and destabilise depositors’ confidence in the banking system.

Ibrahim stated that the NDIC had over the years played a very critical role towards ensuring that banks were safe and sound through effective supervision of the banks; and from all the facts within its custody, no Nigerian bank is near distress.

He also said that some financial and technical assistance were given to deserving financial institutions in the past, to avoid any failure of such banks, adding that in spite of the challenges facing some of the banks, the corporation in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, was monitoring development to ensure the safety and security of depositors’ money.

Ibrahim equally announced the corporation’s plan to establish a Centre for Financial and Economics Studies to train interested members on essential areas of financial and economic management.

There had been bogus reports of financial distress in some money deposit banks like Sky Bank and Heritage Bank, which created panic withdrawals by customers.

The CBN has also come out to say that examination report and analysis from market watchers and International Credit Rating Agencies showed that in spite of global economic challenges, the Nigerian Banking System remained very strong.