THE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says it has set aside the sum of N1.2 trillion to recapitalise the five remaining rescued banks to zero level in case the shareholders of the banks refuse to give approval to their merger plans in the court-ordered Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) scheduled to hold by the end of the month.

The five banks are Oceanic Bank; Intercontinental Bank; Union Bank; FinBank and Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB). The new core investors are Ecobank Transnational Incorporated; Access Bank; African Capital Alliance Consortium; FCMB and Sterling Bank respectively.

In an interactive session with financial journalists in Lagos, on Monday, Managing Director, AMCON, Mustapha Chike-Obi, said the corporation was optimistic that the various shareholders of the respective banks would endorse the business combinations of the merging banks during the EGMs, stressing that in the event of any failure, in concert with the industry regulators, that is, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), would consider the options at their disposal.

Chike-Obi disclosed that AMCON had already set aside N800 billion to recapitalise the five affected banks to zero in the event that the merger plans received approvals from the shareholders at the EGMs, stating that if the shareholders voted contrarily, the corporation would need to inject about the N1.2 trillion into the five banks.

Towards this end, the AMCON boss said plans were underway to increase its bond raisings to N4.5 trillion.

“We are hopeful that the shareholders of the five banks will give a nod to their respective boards and managements to proceed with the merger process. As an institution, we are well prepared for any eventuality. I can assure you that in the event that the shareholders refuse to approve the merger, AMCON and the regulators will consider the other available options,” he said.

He explained that liquidation of banks was tortuous and not the best option, stressing that in the event of liquidation, shareholders would lose their investments, the depositors would get something minimal and  employees would be thrown out of jobs.

He clarified that AMCON was not a regulator but an institution with a specialised function of stabilising the banking sector through buying of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking industry.

Chike-Obi noted that taking off bad debts from the banks’ balance sheets would make them able to lend and also give the management more time to meet their obligations.

On the three banks that were recently nationalised, the AMCON boss disclosed that 15 foreign and six local investors had already indicated interest to buy into them, adding that the process would be transparent.

He maintained that AMCON would not spend more than two years in the nationalised banks, stressing that the specific objectives for the present boards and managements of the nationalised banks were to run the banks as professional and profitable ventures and look for new and credible investors.

“We do not have any secret agenda or a plan to own or run the banks for a long period of time. The whole idea is to recapitalise the banks to zero and get investors to buy the banks,” he explained.

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