Within 10 years, precisely between 2014 and 2023, 10 deposit money banks paid N1.66 trillion into the Banking Sector Resolution Cost Trust Fund (BSRCTF), also known as the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) sinking fund.
Established in July 2010 to salvage the books of banks on the verge of collapse under the burden of non-performing loans (NPLs), AMCON had been birthed with an initial lifespan of 10 years. As the corporation enters into its 15 year, 10 commercial banks in the country listed on the Nigeria Exchange have so far paid N1.663 trillion into the sinking fund of AMCON.
AMCON had created the N1.5 trillion sinking fund, which was to be financed through the contributions of financial institutions in the country as well as the: Central Bank of Nigeria to cover losses on the NPLs.
The Banking Sector Resolution Cost Fund (RCF) was set up in 2011 under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by 24 Nigerian banks. Initially eligible financial institutions were required to make an annual contribution of 30 basis points of their assets.
The N1.66 trillion figure was derived from the 10 year financials of FBN Holdings, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Corporation, Guaranty Trust bank, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, FCMB Holdings and Sterling Holdings.
Of these 10 banks, FBN Holdings had paid the highest, with over N359.66 billion paid between 2014 and 2023 followed by Zenith Bank and Access Corporation which had put in N299.14 billion and N289.05 billion in the same period.
UBA and GTCO had also within the 10 year period paid in N205.235 billion and N166.087 billion into the Sinking fund, while Fidelity Bank had put in N111.805 billion into the fund. Stanbic IBTC, FCMB and Sterling Bank had also put in N87.169 billion, N83.797 billion and N61.864 billion into the sinking fund respectively.
At the time of the establishment of this corporation, the body identified 10 banks with crisis in system assets and responded with the injection of N736 billion liquidity to buy up their assets. The Act establishing the corporation permits, as part of its operation, to set aside a sinking fund with an annual N50 billion contribution by the Central Bank of Nigeria and 0.3 per cent of total asset value of all the commercial banks over the useful life of the corporation.
The money from this fund would then be used to purchase FG securities and the returns from this investment will be returned to the account and then redistributed among the contributing commercial banks. The fund is administered by a consortium of members from the participating banks which will be rotated annually to allow even participation among the participating banks.
In 2013, the management of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) , through their report, advised the Federal Government of Nigeria to stop the operations of AMCON in order to avoid future financial challenges.
In its financials, AMCON had reported a triple-digit growth of 202 per cent from N34.730 billion in the previous year to N108.433 billion in 2023. It had seen a Year-on-Year (YoY) growth in profit of 212 per cent from N34.730 billion in the financial year, which ended on December 31, 2022, to N108.433 billion in the period ended December 31, 2023.
The report disclosed that fair valuation gains on Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) increased to N40.9 billion in 2023 from a loss of N187.9 billion in 2022. Equity portfolio recorded 82 per cent growth in 2023 amounting to N43 billion as compared with N7.9 billion in 2022. The significant trading gains according to AMCON, is as result of an improved performance in the stock market.
The corporation achieved a favourable reduction in total liabilities, from N6.282 trillion in 2022 to N5.739 trillion in 2023, primarily due to repayments of the N500 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan. The Corporation also achieved 89 per cent of its revenue budget in 2023 as the total recovery in 2023 stood at N125.2 billion.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
A breakdown of the recovery by LEADERSHIP showed that, AMCON achieved N81.65 billion in collections from various obligors, N17.8 billion from share sales, N15.5 billion reinvestment income, N6 billion as proceed from sale of properties, N3.8 billion dividend income and N0.5 billion from rental income despite the country's challenging economic environment, occasioned by the removal of subsidy and floatation of the naira.
The executive management of the Corporation led by Alade said AMCON is strategically positioned to continue with the positive trajectory achieved in the year 2023, with special emphasis on improved recoveries and efficient realisation of value from disposal of forfeited assets in furtherance of the Corporation's mandate.
