.,  as you for the customer, i really doubt if this should affect them. The FG has pumped moni into those banks. if customers make heavy withdrawal, then this will cause problem to the banks. I really believe is just a new turn for the banking industry.

My only reservation is on the guys Sanusi appointed to temporarily take charge.
He can find people of better pedigree.
Other than Funke Osibodu and Lai Alabi, I can't remember ever coming across others' names. . . but of course, my not knowing them or their not being household name in banking industry doesn't mean they are incompetent. I know Lai Alabi very well(to a personal level, being a family friend, from neighbouring village). He is a seasoned banker, rose through the ranks in Union bank to become ED(commercial). When Wema bank was having problems and their MD suspended, he was made the MD pending the time the bank's issues were resolved, before he finally handed over to Segun Oloketuyi(ex-Skye bank ED) as substantive GMD.

Funke(an Ife Economics grad) was calling the shots in one of the 89 banks before the M&As  but her bank did not pass the consoludation test. This is a stain and I don't think Sanusi should have used her.  

i have no idea about others.

Jarus:

My only reservation is on the guys Sanusi appointed to temporarily take charge.
He can find people of better pedigree.
Other than Funke Osibodu and Lai Alabi, I can't remember ever coming across others' names. . . but of course, my not knowing them or their not being household name in banking industry doesn't mean they are incompetent. I know Lai Alabi very well(to a personal level, being a family friend, from neighbouring village). He is a seasoned banker, rose through the ranks in Union bank to become ED(commercial). When Wema bank was having problems and their MD suspended, he was made the MD pending the time the bank's issues were resolved, before he finally handed over to Segun Oloketuyi(ex-Skye bank ED) as substantive GMD.

Funke(an Ife Economics grad) was calling the shots in one of the 89 banks before the M&As  but her bank did not pass the consoludation test. This is a stain and I don't think Sanusi should have used her.  

i have no idea about others.

cant really comment, cos i dont know neither of the 2

Fhemmmy:

First bank all the way/
i am sure their own time will come too and sooner or later, there will be some axe up their a$$

I thought First Bank was one of the conservative banks compared to the other banks. Yes it had margin loans but not as bad as other banks based on its assets.

babyrl:

I thought First Bank was one of the conservative banks compared to the other banks. Yes it had margin loans but not as bad as other banks based on its assets.

I have some friends that has always told me to make sure i dont do biz with all these millennium banks, and now i know why

What are the parameters used in dismissing the CEOs?. Seriously i think this is political.Fine the affected banks might not be doing well,but certainly,they are not  the worst amonst the remaining banks.Let me not mention names.How does CBN,hope to salvage these banks,when all it has succeded in doing is to create panic and distrust.Seriously i think the banking sector is gradually sliding back to the pre-consolidation era when regulatory authorites use their powers for the advancement of their selfish interests without recourse to the effects of their actions on the economy.With this pronouncement,how do you expect me to trust the remaining so called stable banks with my little hard earned money.It is either they are yet to be caught or they bribed someone to look the other way or most likely they reached adeal with the officials of the apex bank to create some juicy position for them or their cronies.This  is my humble opinion.Going on monday to buy a new German safe box

the truth is finally out. too bad for those who were questioning why oceanic bank
was busy sacking its workers. now you know why!

Lol

Part of Ibru's abracadabra:
Many Oceanic bank buildings are held on lease/rent: Guess who is the property's owner? Ibru as a person. Guess where she raised loan to finance the property? Oceanic bank!
She(in any person or entity name) will obtain loan from bank, say N2billion, build a building, rent out same to Oceanic bank at say N500m per annum. She collects rent from bank and in four years, she would have recouped the 2 billion, and pay bank back the loan. Subsequent rent goes into madam's private purse.

Sorry for my Pa Jimoh analysis. Na wetin one top Oceanic bank guy wey dey my company now as senior mgt staff talk be dat o

Sacked CEOs guilty of ‘poor corporate governance practices'

The CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido has disclosed that the five banks, which were run by the recently sacked CEOs, accounted for a "disproportionate component" of the industry's total exposure to the capital market and oil and gas sectors. According to him, "the total loan portfolio of these five banks was N2,801.92 billion; margin loans amounted to N456.28 billion and exposure to oil and gas was N487.02 billion. Aggregate non-performing loans stood at N1.143 billion representing 40.81per cent".

The banks are: Oceanic International Bank Plc; Afribank Nigeria Plc; Intercontinental Bank Plc; Union Bank Plc; and Finbank Plc.

Mr. Sanusi also confirmed that the banks "were either perennial net-takers of funds in the inter-bank market or enjoyed liquidity support from the CBN for long periods of time, a clear evidence of illiquidity." He added that one of them is technically insolvent, with a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 1.01 per cent. "Thus a minimum capital injection of N204.94 billion will be required in the 5 banks to meet the minimum capital adequacy ratio of 10%," said Mr. Sanusi. Accordingly the five CEOs were immediately replaced on Friday,

They are:

Nebolisah Arah - to replace Sebastian Adigwe in Afribank Nigeria Plc.

Susan Iroche - replaces Okey Nwosu at Finbank Plc.

Funke Osibodu - replaces Bathlomew Ebong at Union Bank of Nigeria plc.

Lai Alabi - Erastus Akingbola at Intercontinental Bank Plc.

John Aboh - Cecelia Ibru, at Oceanic International Bank Plc, hitherto the only female bank chief executive in Nigeria.

The announcements did not go down well with the indicted bankers, as Mr. Ebong was visibly upset, while Erastus was more proactive, resigning his appointment hours before his sack was made public.

The CBN governor, who addressed the press in company of Steve Oronsaye, Head of Service of the federation, said the sacked banks' CEOs had displayed "excessively high level of non-performing loans in the five banks is attributable to poor corporate governance practices, lax administration processes and the absence or non-adherence to the banks' credit risk management practices,"

Mr. Sanusi said the CBN would inject N400bn into the five Nigerian banks, whose outstanding amount at the expanded discount window was put at about N256.571 billion, at as at June 4.

Apart from the five banks, other banks whose operations underwent a Stress Audit by the CBN are First Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc.
Contrary to insinuations that the sacking of the five CEOs were done unilaterally, Mr Sanusi, explained that his actions had the blessing of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5444618-146/Sacked_CEOs_guilty_of_%E2%80%98poor_corporate.csp

Vladmir 2:

What are the parameters used in dismissing the CEOs?. Seriously i think this is political.Fine the affected banks might not be doing well,but certainly,they are not  the worst amonst the remaining banks.Let me not mention names.How does CBN,hope to salvage these banks,when all it has succeded in doing is to create panic and distrust.Seriously i think the banking sector is gradually sliding back to the pre-consolidation era when regulatory authorites use their powers for the advancement of their selfish interests without recourse to the effects of their actions on the economy.With this pronouncement,how do you expect me to trust the remaining so called stable banks with my little hard earned money.It is either they are yet to be caught or they bribed someone to look the other way or most likely they reached adeal with the officials of the apex bank to create some juicy position for them or their cronies.This  is my humble opinion.Going on monday to buy a new German safe box

So the CBN should have left things they way they are and one day you wake up to find out the bank no longer exist?

Sanusi said one of the banks was "technically Insolvent". The bank only existed because of the loan it was getting on a regular basis for the CBN and inter bank, and could not pay back the loans. That was one of the reason that lead to hgh inter bank rate and lead the CBN to guarantee to loans.

The CBN has pumped N400bn into this banks.

Come to VI annex(after city of David) and see Akingbola's properties, series of sprawling, state-of-the-architecture estates on a whole street. The properties will worth no less than 10billion? Mortgage obviously from intercontinental.

dearie:

@ Finecat,

Your comments are at best , of no substance!

Better get used to it and stop kidding yourself.Sanusi is still that no-nonsense Mr Risk management you may not have heard about,by the time the guy is through with the auditing,we'll see how many bank CEOs will be buying yacths and private jets up and down with the remainder of depositors funds,the greater part of which they've advanced to their cronies and partners in crime in the form of all manner of unsecured facilities

God Bless Nigeria!!!

I am so happy

showreals:

God Bless Nigeria!!!

I am so happy

Dont start dancing yet, let us be sure it is for good intention

Those who will take over the banks

The newly-appointed chief executives tasked with steering the five banks away from troubled waters are:

Suzanne Iroche, MD/CEO Finbank Plc

Suzanne Iroche started her career with First Bank Plc in 1981 and later moved to International Merchant Bank, in 1982.

She has a Masters degree in Management from The J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois, USA.

In 1988 she joined Chartered Bank Ltd. as a manager to set up the Treasury Division and was later promoted to assistant general manager to head the Corporate Banking Department where she handled a diversified portfolio of companies.

In 1995, Suzanne joined the United Bank for Africa (UBA) where she managed the foreign exchange trading function and offshore investment portfolio for the bank. She rose through the ranks to become executive director on the bank's board in 2005.

In June 2006, Suzanne took on the responsibility as ED Global Bank with responsibility for supervision and expansion of the UBA's banking franchise outside Nigeria.


Olufunke Iyabo Osibodu, MD/CEO Union Bank Plc

With over 27 years of banking experience, she has been the managing director of two banks, MBC, and more recently Ecobank Nigeria Plc (2002-2006), before becoming a director in the parent holding company of Ecobank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, a position she left in August 2006.

Her career in banking began in 1981 when she joined NAL Merchant Bank. She moved to Continental Merchant Bank in 1984, heading the treasury department, and then held various positions including vice-president/general manager, Nigeria International Bank; managing director, MBC International Bank and managing director, Ecobank Plc.

She has been a director of ValuCard, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System, Consolidated Discount House Limited, First Securities Discount House Limited, MBC Securities Limited, and ESL Securities Limited.

Born in Lagos in 1959, Mrs. Osibodu attended Holy Child College and the the University of Ife in 1980, where she studied Economics. Funke is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School where she obtained an MBA in Advanced Management. She has spent over 25 years in the banking industry, spending 16 years in treasury management, 15 years in senior management and 9 years as managing director/chief executive of Ecobank plc.

Until her present appointment, she was chair of Citi Investments Limited, a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.


Nebolisa Arah, MD/CEO Afribank Plc

"Known to friends and colleagues as the perfect gentleman, Nebo brings a unique leadership style that simply inspires and motivates," say some close to him. Until his early retirement in 2003, Nebolisah Arah served as chief executive of Fidelity Bank PLC from the inception of the bank in 1988.

John Aboh, MD/CEO Oceanic Bank Plc

Born on the 18th of July 1956, Aboh holds a B.Sc. degree in Finance and an MBA in Finance & Accounts.
A seasoned banker, Aboh began his career in 1981 at First Bank of Nigeria Plc. He also worked as credit analyst, assistant general manager and as deputy general manager & chief inspector in Nigeria Merchant Bank Limited, Nigeria International Bank (Citibank) and United Bank for Africa Plc.

Notable special projects executed by Aboh include the reorganisation of the International Operations System at Nigeria International Bank (Citibank) and the implementation of the UBA MoneyGram money transfer service.

On the 24th of January, 2008, Mr. John Aboh, an executive director (Banking Operations & Services) of First Bank of Nigeria Plc was appointed acting managing Director/chief executive of Wema Bank Plc.
Mahmud L. Alabi, MD/CEO Intercontinental Bank Plc

As at December 31, 2004, he was an executive of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
On the 8th of September 2008, Mr. Alabi was appointed the acting managing director of Wema Bank.

Alabi took over from Mr. John Aboh, following the sack of Mr. Bisi Omoyeni by the CBN, for allegedly flouting the agreements reached with the central bank and stakeholders of the bank in the crisis that rocked the bank a couple of months before.

Fhemmmy:

Dont start dancing yet, let us be sure it is for good intention

Doubt on,Thomas
This action is long overdue,Sanusi just acted in line with the banking guidelines as contained in the BOFIA 1999 as amended
Most Nigerian banks lack good corporate governance,little wonder there has been a massive influx of foreign based Nigerian bankers and even bankers of other nationalities to come and work in Nigerian banks as they believe anything goes in Nigerian banks.No wonder they are now called BANKSTERS(coined from bankers and fraudsters)

I hereby call on the EFCC to go after Charles Soludo who had given Oceanic bank about 70 billion soft loan,Intercontinental the same amount and skye bank too with a plan to buy back the loan as bad debt some years later .Jesus wept.How callous can these guys be

rasputinn:

Doubt on,Thomas
This action is long overdue,Sanusi just acted in line with the banking guidelines as contained in the BOFIA 1999 as amended
Most Nigerian banks lack good corporate governance,little wonder their has been a massive influx of foreign based Nigerian bankers and even bankers of other nationalities to come and work in Nigerian banks as they believe anything goes in Nigerian banks.No wonder they are now called BANKSTERS(coined from bankers and fraudsters)

You are right, and i am sure if EFCC goes after Soludo, they will find one or 2 things to nail him with.
But he tried his best.

He can find people of better pedigree.
Other than Funke Osibodu and Lai Alabi, I can't remember ever coming across others' names. . .

How much better?

Nabolisah Arah was MD of Fidelity bank before retiring early years years ago.

Aboh, and then Alabi were appointed by Soludo to help with Wema, the one before the other.

These're guys who've earned their reputations.
.

IT'S TRUE THEY HAVE BEEN SACKED AND THE 400BILLION INJECTED
INTO THE AFFECTED BANKS.IT ONLY SHOWS ONE THING THAT THE
THEIR FINANCIAL YEAR'S STATEMENT NA OJORO

Fhemmmy:

You are right, and i am sure if EFCC goes after Soludo, they will find one or 2 things to nail him with.
But he tried his best.

His sins will find him out as it's now being revealed that he was too criminally arbitrary.H ereally fooled the nation for sometime
I hear he's nursing a gubernatorial ambition for the Anambra seat come 2011,I just pray the story is true so his political opponents will supply EFCC heaps of dossiers on the back door shenanigans of soludo while he hels sway at the CBN

na wa o

rasputinn:

Doubt on,Thomas
This action is long overdue,Sanusi just acted in line with the banking guidelines as contained in the BOFIA 1999 as amended
Most Nigerian banks lack good corporate governance,little wonder there has been a massive influx of foreign based Nigerian bankers and even bankers of other nationalities to come and work in Nigerian banks as they believe anything goes in Nigerian banks.No wonder they are now called BANKSTERS(coined from bankers and fraudsters)

This may be true but I sincerely hope Sanusi is not fighting FBN's course. let's not 4get dat during his days in FBN, he had been up against major competitors, two of these five inclusive. may this be d antidote the Nigerian baking industry needs restore d much needed sanity.

Donmeca:

This may be true but I sincerely hope Sanusi is not fighting FBN's course. let's not 4get dat during his days in FBN, he had been up against major competitors, two of these five inclusive. may this be d antidote the Nigerian baking industry needs restore d much needed sanity.

Sanusi held sway as the helmsman at FBN for less than 1 year, so what manner of competition are you talking about.

These  guys   were  pure  reckless!!!

How   can  you extend over 12 billion  to  one  individual  to  do  speculative  trading   without  collateral?

Some of them  bought  private  jets    junketing   from one state governor's/ministers office  looking  for  high level  patronage  to  hid   their  reckless   behavior.

Ask  any  banker  today( if  he  will tell you  the  truth)  the   bribes these banks- oceanic , zenith, Inter cont. uba  pay  to   civil servants  and  their  political  oga's  to  maintain accounts.  The  hold  close   to  about 70% of  public  sector  deposits and  pay  huge   bribes to  keep them.
Have  you  ever  wondered  why some   govt projects  never materialize?( its because the  like  of  Erastus  and  Cecilia  make interest returns  to  the  project  implementers).

These  guys  have   not been  proper  managers  of the  funds in their   custody, abi   when  did  proper management  start and end  in  headline  photos  with presidents, ministers public  functions and  parties? What  time do they  have   to  even look  at   their  book and   make  proper investment  decisions.

Abeem:

Sanusi held sway as the helmsman at FBN for less than 1 year, so what manner of competition are you talking about.

What competition? His problem with them when he was at FBN was that fist bank being a lead borrower in the Inter-bank market saw the risks and wanted to withdraw its funds

A country filled with lies and deceits. Does any one of you ladies and gentlemen truly believe that the Govt. has pumped N400B ($2.5B) into these 5 banks?? A govt. that could not subsidize the crude oil for it's citizens, A govt. that is finding it extremely hard to fun the states in the nation, crude oil price today is $67 as oppose to $140 per barrel around this time last year. This govt. is having so much difficulties giving the states N350B to share and they want to pump N400B into 5 banks?? I wonder who they think they are fooling? This is how they will get the N400B. Expect massive closures of many branches of these banks in several states, the days of seing 5-10 branches of these banks in a town is over. Expect probably 1 to 2 bank per city, massive cut in staff salary, upfront payment may be a thing of the past and i expect some mergers. Forget that N400B story, na to protect the banks from massive withrdrawals and panic in the populace.

Consequently, the CBN is injecting a total of about N400 billion into these five banks with immediate effect in form of Tier 2 Capital to be repaid from proceeds of capitalization in the near future

It will be interesting to find out what section of the country gains ownership of these banks when the N400 billion is repaid. I won't be surprised if that ends up being hausa / fulani cabal.

I have no objections to CBN sacking the CEOs of banks who have mismanaged their institutuions. I only have reservations about CBN injecting funds to displace the ownership of existing shareholders without giving them opportunities to come up with the funds first. CBN should have ordered the shareholders to inject additional funds to ensure capital adequacy. CBN should only inject the funds if the existing share holders have been given the opportunity and are unable to come up with the required funds. That is the position to be expected from CBN based on Basel II capital adequacy rules. CBN suddenly waking up and nationalising banks, displacing existing shareholders leaves much to be suspected!

Finecat:

A country filled with lies and deceits. Does any one of you ladies and gentlemen truly believe that the Govt. has pumped N400B ($2.5B) into these 5 banks?? A govt. that could not subsidize the crude oil for it's citizens, A govt. that is finding it extremely hard to fun the states in the nation, crude oil price today is $67 as oppose to $140 per barrel around this time last year. This govt. is having so much difficulties giving the states N350B to share and they want to pump N400B into 5 banks?? I wonder who they think they are fooling? This is how they will get the N400B. Expect massive closures of many branches of these banks in several states, the days of seing 5-10 branches of these banks in a town is over. Expect probably 1 to 2 bank per city, massive cut in staff salary, upfront payment may be a thing of the past and i expect some mergers. Forget that N400B story, na to protect the banks from massive withrdrawals and panic in the populace.

\
@ finecat that is true and ur analysis might just be perfect!!!

400B naira - from the heavens? i believe strongly is just to ally fears first the approval must go tru the house of assembly and then the president assign to it. we all know how the controversies that ensued with the first bailout in the US last winter-its was really a thug of war before it was approved.
We ask Sanusi where the money is coming from? can any one spend such money without the approval of the house of assembly? and do u think the house of assembly wont spend a year debating this bailout-each member looking for where it will personally pay them? and if finally approved from which source? our foreign reserves so that the value of the naira goes down to like 500 to a dollar!!!!!
We are all in together sebi we think everyone can run his/her government alone as long as there is personal wealth, its a shame to be a Nigeria
Ghanaians are teaching us democracy and we no see them as a model to constant electricity very soon South African banks will come and but the remains of these coffins called banks in Nigeria, we have seen their hold on the telecommunication sector in Nigeria-MTN, we all pay Subscription to DSTV that goes to South Africa, yet we deceive ourself as been intelligent. I see intelligence my foot.

OMG, when will Nigerians stop looking @ everything from ethno-religious perspective? You still do not know Sanusi, obviously!

Being an insider, Sanusi was actually aware of dese sharp practices, while in d system but didn't av power to correct. He did not join, and efforts were made to smash him, esp wt d accusation, earlier ds yr, dat he was behind the pervasive demarketing, real or imagined,being talked about then

Why governments bail out banks-ROSS GITTINS
September 20, 2008
How come conservative American politicians, avowed believers in the free market, are busy propping up investment banks and nationalising insurance companies?

Are they just helping out their rich buddies at taxpayers' expense? The old story of capitalising the profits and socialising the losses?

But, if so, how come they're letting some outfits go to the wall while bailing out others? And while we're on the subject, how come central banks that profess to be terribly worried about inflation - including our own - are flooding the market with liquidity?

According to the ideal, the way the capitalist system should work is that it's good luck to them when the capitalists make huge profits, but when they make losses and go out backwards, it's tough luck. They get neither envy nor sympathy.

In reality, it doesn't work like that and never has. We don't live in a pure free-market economy. We live in what used to be called a "mixed economy", where markets operate within regulatory frameworks set by governments and governments perform some functions themselves rather than leaving them to the private sector.

This is particularly so when it comes to banks. Banks are different. Banks provide the bloodstream of the economy. All of us use them as repositories for our savings and many individuals and businesses depend on them for loans.

But banks tend to lend for long periods money they have borrowed for short periods, including deposits that can be withdrawn at will. So if too many people were to demand their money back from a bank at the same time, the bank wouldn't be able to pay them and would fail.

Were that to happen with one bank, other people would probably lose confidence in their own bank and demand their money back, too. In such a free market world, all the banks would fail and the damage and destruction to the economy would be incalculable.

This means the banking system depends for its stability on the confidence of the public. It's the responsibility of governments and their agencies to ensure the system remains stable.

They do this by closely supervising the banks' activities and by stepping in to stabilise any bank that gets into trouble and threatens to bring down the whole system.

This, by the way, is a lesson we learnt from the Great Depression of the 1930s. It's not smart to stand around while banks fail and people lose their savings.

The trouble is that ensuring the stability of the system risks creating the problem of "moral hazard" - the belief that the government will always rescue them if they get into trouble may encourage banks to take undue risks in their pursuit of profit.

But governments believe this is the lesser evil relative to the havoc a collapse in the banking system would wreak. Even so, they seek to minimise the moral hazard problem, first by their close "prudential supervision" of the banks and, second, by punishing the errant bank's management and shareholders.

That's the point to be clear on: it's the people to whom the bank owes money who get bailed out (especially the small ones). The government rescuers go out of their way to ensure that all the top executives are sacked and the bank's shareholders do their dough.

Often, the authorities arrange a shotgun marriage in which a strong bank takes over the ailing bank at a deliberately bargain-basement price, with the failed bank going out of existence. That's what happened with JP Morgan's takeover of the Bear Stearns investment bank.

Note that Wall Street's huge investment banks aren't the simple trading banks of my explanation, but they are institutions whose failure could bring down many other businesses and cause great pain to individuals.

That explains this week's US Government "bail out" of the ginormous AIG insurance group. It's getting a two-year, $100 billion loan at an exorbitant interest rate, the purpose of which is simply to keep the show solvent while it's broken up and sold off. The seizure of an 80 per cent shareholding is intended to punish the existing shareholders for screwing up.

As for the Government takeover of America's two big mortgage guarantors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they always were, despite their private shareholders, de facto Government agencies.

Their formal takeover was necessary to protect millions of home buyers. To allow them to fail would have been an act of masochism.

But if everyone else was rescued in some way, why was Lehman Brothers allowed to fail? Because it could be - without doing much flow-on damage to other financial institutions or households. Because it had been ailing for months, giving the institutions with which it had dealings plenty of warning.

Apart from rescuing some outfits but not others, the US Fed has been pumping billions of dollars into the financial system to keep it liquid. So have many other central banks, including ours.

But isn't this a free kick for the greedy banks? And won't it add to inflation?

No and no.

What happens every night in the short-term money market is that banks that are short of "exchange settlement funds" (known by the nickname "cash" borrow from banks that have more than they need.

The interest rate charged on these overnight borrowings is known as the "cash rate" - that is, it's the interest rate the Reserve Bank controls.

At present, however, the banks are reluctant to lend to each other, preferring to hang on to any cash they have. So the central banks have stepped in and are lending to any bank that's short.

But these loans are being made at the cash rate, they run for only a few days or weeks and they're made against the security of bonds or other assets.

Note that, were the central bank not making these loans, the shortage of exchange settlement funds would be so great as to push the official interest rate much higher than (in our case) the 7 per cent the Reserve desires it to be.

In other words, the Reserve is doing only an extreme version of what it does every day: manipulating the balance of demand and supply of exchange settlement funds so as to hold the cash rate where it wants it to be.

As the money market calms down, the Reserve will reel the extra liquidity back in - just as it's done several times before in the past year of the subprime crisis.

That means no free ride for the banks and no effect on inflation. Taxpayers' money is being used in ways that benefit taxpayers.

Ross Gittins is the Herald's Economics Editor.