Two global banks close Nigerian offices

Global banking giant HSBC and UBS, a Swiss private bank, have closed their representative offices in Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced this in a report on Friday. The report did not state why the banks closed shop.

UBS opened its doors in Nigeria in mid-2014 to “connect prospective clients with its offshore centers in Switzerland, the UK, Dubai and Singapore, where dedicated client advisers offer personalised service and full access to the bank’s vast global resources”.

The apex bank revealed that foreign direct investment in Nigeria fell to N379.84 billion in the first six months of 2018, compared to N532.63 billion recorded in 2017.

In July, HSBC predicted that a victory for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 would have a negative effect on the economy.

In its response, the presidency asked the bank to return stolen assets allegedly hidden in its coffers.

However, in its projections for the second half of the year, higher oil prices and production would serve as gains but rising foreign debt and uncertainty surrounding the 2019 general election would be a drawback.

The CBN also said three lenders — which were not named  — failed to meet their minimum liquidity ratio of 30 percent.

It added that non-performing loans dropped from 15 percent in 2017 to 12.4 percent as of June 2018, adding that this was still a long way above its five percent threshold.