Business

We’ve disbursed N4.1trn to banks so far, says AMCON CEO

November 23, 2024 6:38 pm

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says it has disbursed a total of N4.1 trillion to banks since its establishment.

Gbenga Alade, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the corporation, spoke at the 2024 senate committee on banking retreat with AMCON.

The retreat, themed, ‘Transitioning Beyond AMCON: Navigating the Path to Sustainable Financial Stability’, highlighted the corporation’s achievements and ongoing challenges.

“AMCON also capitalised three banks and provided financial accommodation to five banks in order to stabilise them,” he said.

“A total sum of N2.3 trillion was injected to these eight banks and that brings the total to 4.1 trillion that AMCON disbursed.

“To date, the corporation has made recoveries in the sum of 2 trillion. Of the total recovery, cash recovery represents 44 percent while the other recoveries such as sale of proprietary assets, clawbacks and repurchases make up the remaining 56 percent.

“The corporation has disposed assets worth about 651 billion from inception to date.”

AMCON is a federal government agency established in 2010 to buy nonperforming loans (NPLs) or bad debts from banks and inject capital into insolvent banks, ensure stability in the financial sector.

The corporation’s mandate is to recover over N5 trillion owed to Nigerians through loans from banks that have collapsed.

In November 2020, Ahmed Kuru, the organisation’s former CEO, said AMCON owes the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) more than N4 trillion.

Kuru said the debt could rise to almost N7 trillion by 2024 based on the prevalent inflationary trend, which peaked at the rate of 14.89 percent in November 2020.

Updating journalists on the agency’s repayment performance, Alade said AMCON has paid N3 trillion to the CBN, with about N3 trillion still outstanding due to interest accruals.

“The corporation has also made a total payment of about 3 trillion to the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2013 through to 2023,” Alade said.

“Out of N4.1 trillion for asset purchase and financial accommodation to banks, AMCON has paid about 3 trillion.

“If you do a rough maths, you will say AMCON is almost there, but we are not almost there because when you do interest, capitalisation on that amount, AMCON today is still owing close to N3 trillion to be paid.”

‘AMCON STOPS ASSET SALES, SAYS 2026 DEADLINE SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE’

Alade said meeting the 2026 deadline cannot be guaranteed, as efforts are being made to revitalise assets to make them viable.

AMCON was granted a five-year extension in 2021, suggesting its operations would end by 2026.

Alade said the organisation has stopped selling assets currently.

“At least we haven’t sold any assets since July last year, but we have been making recovery,” the CEO said.

“We believe in collaboration. We believe in discussing with the obligors to see how we can revitalise those businesses, particularly in the strategic industries, and then get investors.

“By the time we revitalise these strategic assets, and they are producing oil, we know that we can increase oil production if we are able to resolve these oil and gas assets.

“Once we do that, distinguished senators, we have a plan of securitising.

“An asset that is dead, you can’t securitise it. Nobody is going to invest in them, but once these assets are alive, then we can securitise, and AMCON can just go, that is the plan.”

Alade added that once the corporation securitises, they would require a dedicated team of about 25 people within the CBN to manage the process.

The CEO said the task is incredibly challenging, particularly given that the judiciary had yet to implement the amended AMCON Act, which would have granted the corporation significant new powers.

Alade expressed hope that a retreat with the high court, court of appeal, and supreme court would hasten the hearing of AMCON issues.