Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Nigerian banking shakeup

I was saving this story for another day, but it's developing rapidly. Heads of Nigerian banks fired and arrested. Powerful, famous people and government institutions publicly humiliated. Investigations of possible criminal activity. These things are unprecedented in Nigeria.

I would watch for the name of Lamido Sanusi [right], the head of Nigeria's central bank. After the moves reported below, I'd expect to see him among the expatriates in London.

That's where Nuhu Ribadu, the former head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had to go. It seems he began to be effective in the fight against corruption. After he was demoted and sent to a "reeducation" program, he and his family fled the country before his enemies could arrest him. I would not be surprised to see Sanusi become his London neighbor.

Nigeria sacks heads of five banks
The Nigerian central bank has injected 400bn naira ($2.6bn; £1.6bn) into five banks and sacked their managers.

The regulator said the banks were undercapitalised and posed a risk to the entire banking system.

Governor Lamido Sanusi said Afribank, Finbank, Intercontinental Bank, Oceanic Bank and Union Bank would be run as normal until new investors were found...

"The banks have lost their money in bad loans," Mr Sanusi told reporters in Lagos. "We have questions about the management, so we have put in new management."...

Mr Sanusi took over as head of the central bank over two months ago, pledging to clean up the banking system that has fuelled growth in Nigeria.

Among the executives removed were senior members of Nigeria's corporate elite, long seen as almost untouchable by the political establishment...


Nigerian banks get $2.6bn bailout
Nigeria's central bank has announced Africa's first major bank rescue programme along with the sacking of the heads of five banks, accused of poor management and piling up debts.
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the central bank chief, said on Friday that $2.6bn were to be paid out to the affected banks to avoid a crisis...

The five institutions account for 40 per cent of banking sector credit in the country and the executives removed included members of Nigeria's corporate aristocracy, long seen as almost untouchable...


Nigeria threatens largest debtors
The Nigerian central bank has threatened legal action against defaulting customers of five banks rescued in a $2.6bn (£1.58bn) bailout.

The central bank published a list of more than 200 customers, including companies and state governments.

Nigerian police have arrested four of the banks' chief executives after all five were sacked last week...

The published list includes corporations like Transcorp and fuel distributor African Petroleum, as well as the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and state governments of Delta and Ebonyi.

Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said the chairman of the commission has met with the chief executives of all of the country's banks...



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