Leadership (Abuja)
Amaka Ifeakandu
17 August 2008
The Association of Corporate Affairs of Nigeria (ACAMB) has called for the sustenance of banking consolidation, saying it generated employment for graduates and has positioned the nation's banks to access credit from international institutions.
The reform according to the association has helped to address the rampant cases of weak capital and enable banks to play a more effective developmental role in the economy.
Speaking in Lagos at a press conference, the president of ACAMB, Mr Eddy Ademosu, said that the post consolidation competition among banks has engendered the emergence of variety of new products and the wide use of information technology and automated teller machines (ATMs).
He said that the enlarged capital base available to all banks propelled business growth with rapid branch expansion both locally and internationally.
Describing the nation's financial services sector as the nucleus of economic development, he said that in 2007, the total assets and contingent/liabilities of the industry which stood at N10.5 trillion was 48 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He further said that the local currency deposit within the same period amounted to N6 trillion or 27 per cent GDP while gross earnings which contribute to four per cent of the GDP was N900 billion.
He said that after consolidation,the banking industry accounted for 60 per cent of the total market capitalisation while breweries, petroleum marketing, food and beverages recorded 5.56 per cent, 4.29 per cent and 8.48 per cent respectively.
Ademosu however refuted the allegation that banks do not pay interest on savings accounts, stressing that interest are calculated on daily basis and credited to the customers account monthly. He said banking business is predicated on trust and every bank values its relationship with customers, adding that customers sign a memorandum of acceptance or acceptance letter for all offers of facilities granted to them and they have right to either reject or accept it from the beginning.
'The onus is on the customer to read and understand the contents of an offer letter. The watchword of all banks is that there are no hidden charges in offer letters given to customers," he added.
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