Written by Abdul-Rahman Abubakar &Turaki A. Hassan
Friday, 19 March 2010 02:29
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo did not tell Nigerians the true status of Nigerian banks at the start of the global financial meltdown in 2008, Senate President David Mark has said.
S
peaking during a one-day public hearing on the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) establishment bill, Senator Mark said, “We have found ourselves where we are today as a result of one thing; the Central Bank’s inability to supervise the banks properly.”
“I recall that in Soludo’s time, we called the governor of CBN no less than three times to come and brief us when the economic melt-down started, and on each occasion, we were assured and re-assured that the situation in Nigeria was excellent and that there was no problem at all. Now we know better,” he added.
Mark who blamed the former CBN boss and the candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in last month’s Anambra State governorship polls for the woes in the banking sector, argued that if there was proper supervision of the banks by the apex bank under Soludo’s watch, the banks wouldn’t have been where they are today.
“What is even more disturbing is that while the banks were running these toxic debts, they were also declaring profits. Simply, I mean to me as an ordinary man, I cannot understand how you will be owing so much debts and then you are dashing out money. It is never done in my place,” Mark said.
Speaking, CBN governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said the banking reform embarked upon by the apex bank uncovered so many abnormalities in the sector which could only be addressed by the establishment of an asset management company.
Senator Nkechi Nwoagu, chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, said, “The establishment of AMCON is aimed at assisting banks to efficiently manage and dispose of toxic assets, encourage virile economic activities, improve the liquidity of our banks’ balance sheets and create a conducive environment for the resumption of lending activities in the banking sector.”
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