Abuja — FOURTEEN banks which failed the consolidation hurdle had their licences revoked yesterday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank will immediately commence liquidation of the failed banks and then report their debtors to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for probe and possible prosecution.

And to consolidate the gains of the reforms in the sector, President Olusegun Obasanjo has called a stakeholders' meeting for today in Abuja.

The meeting which comes up at the Banquet Hall of the State House, is expected to kick off by 11 a.m.

According to a release signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Ufot Ekaette, ministers and ministers of state are expected to attend the event.

The banks whose licences were revoked are:

African Express Bank; All States Trust Bank; Assurance Bank of Nigeria; City Express Bank; Eagle Bank; Fortune International Bank; Gulf Bank; Hallmark Bank; Lead Bank; Liberty Bank: Metropolitan Bank; Societe Generale Bank: Trade Bank; and Triumph Bank.

CBN Governor Prof. Charles Soludo who lamented that the revocation was coming exactly eight years after the country witnessed the revocation of licences of over 24 banks on January 16, 1998, pointed out that the list of chronic debtors to the banking sector is being compiled and will be forwarded to the EFCC for action.

Soludo said the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has been directed to obtain court approval to commence the process of liquidation of the affected banks promising depositors that they will start getting their fund after a period of 90 days.

He stated that the premises of the banks in question are already being protected by the Police to avoid asset stripping, adding that "examiners will immediately move into the banks for final deposit verification and the compilation of the depositors registers."

He said negotiation will commence soon with the 25 banks that met the December deadline, for them to accept the payment of the deposits and their transfer for safety and security reasons, adding that the guarantee of 100 per cent payout of private sector deposit covers both individual and corporate depositors.

The CBN governor also said the "back book" of discredited practitioners in the system that is being maintained by the apex bank is being automated for easy identification of persons on the list while "the list of debtors of banks is being screened to ensure that no non-performing debtor is left on the boards of the 25 banks."

Furthermore, CBN has slated a post consolidation due diligence exercise to be carried out on banks in the first quarter of this year which will enable it to re-verify all the banks to prevent or eliminate any incidence of "bubble capital."

"In the event that a bubble that had existed bursts, a contingency plan which includes getting stronger banks to acquire any shaky bank is in place and the CBN stands ready to play its role as lender of last resort," he added.

Speaking on the funds trapped in the 16 banks, Soludo said the money was N177 billion out of which a total of N107 billion accounts for uninsured depositors fund.

Soludo lauded the consolidation exercise, saying the N177 billion which is gross is still the lowest ever in global record for reformation exercise and that the amount is still lower than one per cent of the country's GDP.

On the interim management which was constituted for failed banks last weekend, Soludo said the CBN took the decision in the best interest of the public.

He said since the CBN will still have to verify the depositors registers as well as the actual deposits, the decision to put credible management to replace those at the helms of affairs when the banks went down was to avoid asset stripping and falsification of records.