The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in an advertorial on its website has published 205 names of directors and major share holders of defaulting companies of the five banks that had their MD's fired last week Friday.

The entire list of debts was graded a non-performing status.

The CBN stated that the action became necessary following the regulatory action on the five banks and requested that "the defaulting customers of the affected banks to pay without further delay their indebtedness."

The CBN warned that the debtors failure to do so, "the bank (CBN) will take all appropriate legal actions to ensure repayment."

"These are the largest debtors and the CBN will continue to publish the list of defaulters on an on-going basis" the statement concluded.

Foremost names in the list include politicians and notable business moguls in the Nigerian economy.

http://www.cenbank.org/Out/publications/pressRelease/GOV/2009/ADVERTORIAL2.pdf     - Full list

News Article

Nigeria's richest man owes a bank N8 billion.Was that Forbes list doctored or what?

AIG and Wigwe are the MD and DMD of Access Bank. The borrowed N16Bn to do what?

@Sagamite
It was UAC Nigeria that borrowed the money.Maybe AIG and Wigwe stood as sureties or have a hand in the affairs of UACN

aieromon:

@Sagamite
It was UAC Nigeria that borrowed the money.Maybe AIG and Wigwe stood as sureties or have a hand in the affairs of UACN

Dont confuse United African Company, PLC with United Alliance Company of Nigeria Ltd. The former is a public limited company quoted on the stock exchange; the latter is a private company of which AIG Imoukhuede and Herbert Wigwe are its Directors.
Before a company can borrow money from the bank, the borrowing must be authorized by the board of directors. A board resolution is mandatory. In addition, the directors are to provide a guarantee to the bank to secure the borrowing. If there are more than one directors in the company, they are expected to sign a joint and several gurantee which will make the directors to be jointly and severally liable for the debt of the company.
The interesting thing about a joint and several guarantee is that the bank can go after each of the directors individually to recover the debt owed it.

aieromon:

Nigeria's richest man owes a bank N8 billion.Was that Forbes list doctored or what?

rich people borrow money too you know.

donald trump borrows money to finance his real estate deals.

lol@the delta state government having a non performing loan of 6 billion. where did our oil revenue go?

even ebonyi state owes .5 billion and isn't servicing it.   

maybe it's time to audit Nigerian states and fire their governors 

peter odili owes money too. This could be tejumola king of steel all over again. people living on fake wealth

@abeem
Point noted.why should they borrow from a bank other than Access?
@bawomolo
Yep,they do.i was lookin' at the responsibility and integrity angle.A person that defaults in repayment of loan is not worthy to be on the Forbes list same as people whose source of wealth is looted state funds

@abeem
Of course how can Wigwe and Aig Imokhuede be listed as Directors of United African Company without Larry Etah? Anyway, we know their own United Alliance Company. The question still remains why should they take from Intercontinental Bank and refuse to pay back. Don't they know what N16 billion means to the balance sheet of a bank?
Now, they would be dancing that their own bank Access was spared. Or was the money shared between them and Erastus? EFCC what are you waiting for? I'll like to see all those people on the list in your gulag

In reviewing the list of the hardcore debtors released by the apex bank, I found out that some of the debtors or the directors of the debtor companies are indebted to more than one bank viz: Transcorp, Obat Petroleum, Petosan Property, Ikeja Hotel Plc, Falcon Securities, etc. There is nothing wrong with this as banks always arrange for consortium lending in a situation where they do not want to be over-exposed or the ratio of their lending to the particular sector vis-a-vis total lending will be too much as to contravene the CBN policy guidelines. To cover their exposures banks do rely on debentures, legal mortgages or other forms of collateral to secure their exposure. Of course this is in an ideal situation of a well structured loan that the repayment is expected to come from acceptable and verifiable sources.

There are several tell-tale signs that give the signal that a debt might become difficult to recover. Maturing obligations i.e. interest payment and principal repayment not being met as and when due; Evasiveness of the debtor in providing documents necessary to perfect the collateral (if one was obtained to secure the lending) etc,. Some banks are however slow to call-in the lending even when the signs are clear for them to see. Sometimes, it might be due to pressure from politicians (as in the days of yore when the Federal Government owns majority shares in the banks and wielded power to appoint and remove Directors of the bank). With privatization, this fear should be unfounded, you will think so. Not so. The directors of a privatized bank are also beholden/ answerable to those who have controlling shares in the banks and may decide their fate if they refuse to play ball.

There are some names on the list that a prudent banker should be wary of before granting them facilities. Bank usually sent out references to other banks to obtain confidential information on potential credit customers. I can tell from the list that some are credit risks ab-initio from my past experience in the Nigerian banking system. It suggests that loans granted to them will be irrecoverable or to be diplomatic, difficult to recover from their antecedents. Names like Arisekola Alao, does not inspire confidence. What manner of entrepreneurial skills does he possess that he will bring to the table on Oil and Gas exploration? I don’t know. The money will be spent on amala and ewedu to cater to the needs of the indigents in Ibadan. That is dead on arrival as some people will say.

Going forward, banks must attempt to find a better way of assessing or rating current and potential customers based on their risk factor. That is the only thing that can bring sanity to the system.

Madam stock exchange is owing money through Transcop.

pcicero:

@abeem
Of course how can Wigwe and Aig Imokhuede be listed as Directors of United African Company without Larry Etah? Anyway, we know their own United Alliance Company. The question still remains why should they take from Intercontinental Bank and refuse to pay back. Don't they know what N16 billion means to the balance sheet of a bank?
Now, they would be dancing that their own bank Access was spared. Or was the money shared between them and Erastus? EFCC what are you waiting for? I'll like to see all those people on the list in your gulag

I have left Nigeria for a long time so I will not be able to give you the exact law that addresses the question you posed. But if my intelligence has not failed me, I think it is the BOFID of 1990 (Banks and Other Financial Institutions Decree) re-christened BOFIA (Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act Section 17 (1)(a-c) that forbade directors of a bank from being direct beneficiaries of a loan created by the bank where they are managers.
So as you can see, it is a matter of playing safe and not doing something to contravene the law that can lead to criminal prosecution of the Access helmsmen. I will be surprised if Access bank has not done similar favor to other bank directors though.

Another angle to the United Alliance Company Limited's debt could be that this company may be used by Aig and Herbert as their investment vehicle in Access Bank and the company may have taken this loan during the bank consolidation exercise in order for it to buy more shares of Access.

What do these folks use the borrowed money for?

Jimoh Ibrahm was actually right when he said there is no rich man in Nigeria. He said the so-called billionaires are nothing but glorified debtors to banks. He mentioned himself, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and others as debtors to banks but billionaires to people. He was indeed right when some people in this house and other media abused him for labelling Dangote’s name as debtor.

Truly, there is no rich man in Nigeria.

oluajana:

Truly, there is no rich man in Nigeria.

How true!!

Yet they flaunt bank money in our faces and we hail and hail them.

oluajana:

Jimoh Ibrahm was actually right when he said there is no rich man in Nigeria. He said the so-called billionaires are nothing but glorified debtors to banks. He mentioned himself, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and others as debtors to banks but billionaires to people. He was indeed right when some people in this house and other media abused him for labelling Dangote’s name as debtor.

GBAM!!!

oluajana:



Truly, there is no rich man in Nigeria.

at least ADENUGA's name was not included, maybe he is,

oluajana:

Jimoh Ibrahm was actually right when he said there is no rich man in Nigeria. He said the so-called billionaires are nothing but glorified debtors to banks. He mentioned himself, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and others as debtors to banks but billionaires to people. He was indeed right when some people in this house and other media abused him for labelling Dangote’s name as debtor.

Truly, there is no rich man in Nigeria.

This is what my father has been saying for years! Now the world can finally see. What a sham!

Humn, Alhaji Arisekola Alao Again !. He was part of the people that "killed" the defunct National Bank.

He is also known to "dine and wine" with our bleached-skin, good-for-nothing governor, Adebayo Alao Akala. Maybe Akala will help him out by dipping his bleached hands into the Oyo state's treasury to save Aare Musulumi (meaning, President of the muslims) of Ibadanland, Alhaji Arisekola Alao, who happens to be one of his hopes for second term in Oyo State.

Arisekola's role during Abacha's regime is not forgotten too. Only God saved him at University Of Ibadan from getting lynched. _{Maybe if he had been lynched then, he wouldnt be able to defraud these banks.}

Supid people !

This is serious

It is worth knowing that the individuals or directors do not owe the banks.
Rather, it is the companies that are in debt.
Anyone who knows anything about about business would understand that this is rife.

CBN would be going after the companies and not the individuals if and when they decide to take things to the next level.

Too much money on the run

God please help us in this country!!!!!

Okereke + Transcorp

oluajana:

Jimoh Ibrahm was actually right when he said there is no rich man in Nigeria. He said the so-called billionaires are nothing but glorified debtors to banks. He mentioned himself, Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and others as debtors to banks but billionaires to people. He was indeed right when some people in this house and other media abused him for labelling Dangote’s name as debtor.

Yes o! Imagine this, we hail rich men who are indebted to banks that lent them our money!

This also shows that there is no proper 'credit checking' system in the country. People, because of their fame and businesses just walk into two or three banks and borrow millions. . . sorry, billions of Naira.
If there were any proper checks, their names would have been flagged off as 'defaulters' to other banks and they would not have been able to get loans from other banks. Companies like Acquitate Oil and Gas with names of Ike Okolo etc, as well as other people like Imasekha, Dangote and co. You cant be defaulting on your re-payments in one bank and then go into another bank to collect loans
Okay, lets see what CBN will do to these defaulters. Are they going to confisticate properties? Are they going to throw people in jail? Hmmmm, the world is watching o! Let us cheer Sanusi (whether he is doing right or wrong) on to see whether he will finish what he started. He seems to be going the way of Nuhu Ribadu. Lets hope that someone somewhere (like Ibori) will not ensure that he is stopped in his tracks (the way they stopped Ribadu)

In a BBC interview on Friday last week, Sanusi Lamido was asked if he will like to see some of the CEOs go to jail, his reply was "Yes, I will like to see some of them go to jail."
BBC World business daily

OMO IBO:

It is worth knowing that the individuals or directors do not owe the banks.
Rather, it is the companies that are in debt.
Anyone who knows anything about about business would understand that this is rife.

CBN would be going after the companies and not the individuals if and when they decide to take things to the next level.

Yes i understand that but at the same time, the 'business' does not mis-appropriate the funds. It is the 'people' or 'directors' that disburse these funds for use in one project or the other hence, if the assets of the business are confisticated and the banks are not able to get all their money back, the people/directors etc will have to be held responsible.

Guys don't get carried away with the figures. This is a wind of change (RCCG) and soon power must change hand (MFM). Just don't loose sight! Say what! say what!,

Its not a crime for the rich in the society to borrow money either from banks or from any other lending financial institutions as being argued on nairaland, but it becomes a crime when those incharge of the lending process try going into hiding as the case with the MD & CEO of oceanic bank, Cecilia Ibru, who was arrested at the airport after trying to get out of the country.
I think there's every need to sanitise our banks so as to encourage foreing investors into the country.

Sanusi is such a fool.I am not a party to his useless witch hunting antics.