In order to strengthen the soundness of the banking industry, the Bankers Committee at its last meeting agreed to publish in newspapers names of its chronic debtors. The Committe also agreed to deny such debtors access to foreign exchange. Shareholders in this interview commended this decision saying the incoming government should do a lot in the area of banking reform.

Chairman, Nigeria Professional Shareholders Association, Mr. Godwin Anono:

How are you sure they are not going to do selective publishing. It is a very good idea, because when you borrow, you must learn how to pay back. But in Nigeria when people borrow they don’t want to repay because they believe it is government money

There are many companies whose names are pronounced that they actually owe the bank. The banks have even delayed in doing the needful, it should not be until the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) tells them, because at the end of the day CBN and other regulators would be asking them to make provision for the debt and this will also reduce the income of the banks and it also affects the dividend payable to shareholders.

Basically, there are some loans they call Performing and there are some- Non-Performing Loan NPL, and there is a reason for it. There are some for 80 and some 90 days but this time around many of them have run into debt but the entity and the borrower are still alive and the borrower is not showing any interest in paying. CBN and banks have delayed because some of them have this money but they want to pay and after using the money on and on at the end they will come back to the bank and say give us concession and at the end they will not be able to pay.

When you look at the whole situation, it is a good idea. But the question is, will they publish all the names of the debtors? Some of these debtors will even threaten to go to court if their names are published, they use court to threaten a man whom they came to beg for loan. It is not only publishing their names that matters, some of them don’t have integrity, they don’t mind if their names are published. So it is for the CBN to move against these debtors via EFCC or other anti-corruption agencies of the CBN to ensure they pay to the last kobo and arrest all the people that guaranteed the loan to serve as deterrent to others.

National President, Western Icon Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Segun Owolabi: It is going to be a pointer to a good reform in the banking industry, a lot of people believe that taking credit from the bank is their right which I think to some extent it is, but when it comes to servicing and paying up and they don’t care, then the needful should be done. We are on the neck of the boards of banks as regards to non-performing loans and in most cases some of the beneficiaries of this NPL are directors of the bank and they will still come to the meeting telling us stories, we want to know them, we don’t want them to be covered.

Most of us that are leaders of shareholders groups, we come to meetings to sing their praises at the detriment of other shareholders and our investment and that should stop, we don’t want praise singing again. The incoming government should do a lot in the area of banking reform.

Those that need money to do certain development project or to invest in manufacturing do not have access to those loans but the bank directors have easy access to loans which they spend on frivolities, so their names should be published. Anytime I go to AGM’s, as a Professional Accountant, they don’t give people like us chance to speak at the AGM because they know that we know what is going on and we are going to expose them but they will rather call people that are sycophants that sing their praises in order to collect money from them   either before or at the end of a meeting. I don’t want to mention names, but we want banking reform.