Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Nigerian banking system and culture of corruption

Sola Odunfa's analysis on the BBC News web site offers a view of how things work in Nigeria. Add this to the textbook descriptions.

Devoured by greed?
Once again Nigeria is in the throes of a bank crisis. Rumbles of a quake have been heard and the nation is girding its loins.

Ten banks were audited by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Only half of them got the pass mark...

The remaining 14 banks in the country are now being audited. How many of these will scale through?

Should half of them also require government bailouts, the entire financial industry in Nigeria may crash, taking what is left of the economy with it.

Banking laws in Nigeria are tight enough to prevent the type of crisis creeping in...

But what are laws in an environment with pervasive corruption and uncontrollable greed?

About 10 years ago 20 banks collapsed, taking with them the future and, in some cases, the lives of many depositors.

I do not recollect that any serious punishment was meted to the bankers...

There was also the earlier saga of scores of failed finance houses when several thousand Nigerians were impoverished.

Most of the proprietors initially fled the country only to return to enjoy their loot when they considered the coast clear.

Since then banking in Nigeria has become a glamour profession. Bank executives flaunt opulence and an air of arrogance...

With time, access to bank credit has become the preserve of the very rich who see no reason to pay back, given the percentage they had paid officials...

See also: Nigerian banking shakeup
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1 Comments:

At 8:51 AM, Blogger Ken Wedding said...

EFCC - N25.5 Billion Non-Performing Loans Recovered

"The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)'s onslaught against troubled bank chiefs and debtors may have yielded bountifully.

"Yesterday, the commission announced that it had recovered N25.5 billion from loan defaulters.

"EFCC Chairman Farida Waziri told journalists in Lagos that the recovered sums were in fulfilment of her promise to go after debtors who had failed to take advantage of the seven-day ultimatum given them to pay their debts.

"She said the anti-graft body had continued with the arrest of loan defaulters and that by last night, 16 bank chiefs and 68 debtors were in EFCC's custody, though she did not reveal their identities..."

 

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