E-Financial
AMCON, EFCC to Raid Banks over Debts
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), says it is collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as strategy to recover N4.6 billion from debtors across the country.
The corporation said this in a statement issued after a meeting with the management of the EFCC in Lagos, adding that the decision was for both agencies to consolidate on the gains in the areas of investigating, prosecuting and compelling all obligors of AMCON in accordance with the relevant statutes.
The agencies said they were working on taking another look at some banks and their officials that were instrumental to the abuse and violation of internal processes that led to the huge non-performing loans in AMCON’s portfolio.
“The agencies are planning to revisit, reinvestigate and duly prosecute such banks and the responsible officials,” the statement said.
Mr Ibrahim Magu, EFCC Acting Chairman, who welcomed Mr Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director, AMCONand his team described the assignments of both agencies of government as “very tough, overwhelming and challenging.”
He however added that he was happy that AMCON under Kuru is doing everything within its mandate to confront the obligors with all the risks involved in the process of doing so.
He said it was for that reason that EFCC established AMCON Desk with dedicated EFCC officials that ensured that all AMCON related cases in EFCC received speedy attention.
Magu assured Kuru that the AMCON Desk at EFCC would continue to be functional adding that the EFCC was willing to increase the number of personnel on the desk if so required.
He said that the agency would be willing to establish a Lagos branch if necessary to make sure these huge loans are recovered in the interest of the Nigerian economy.
The EFCC boss affirmed that some of those obligors “who took loans without the intention of paying back” did not envisage that someday an agency like AMCON would come knocking on their doors seeking to recover the loans.
Magu, therefore, condemned the impunity with which those transactions were done.
According to him, giving the similarity in the objectives of both agencies, the acting EFCC boss said there was need for joint training towards fostering better understanding between AMCON and the EFCC.
While reaffirming the commitment of the EFCC to cooperate and provide the much needed support to AMCON, Magu urged AMCON to ensure justice is done in all cases.
He said that was because most of the obligors might not have acted alone in their unwillingness to repay, but might involve the connivance of some of the bank officials whose motive was to cheat the banks ab-initio.
He, however, disclosed that “in appropriate circumstances, these bankers would also be called upon to account for their roles in granting these questionable facilities.”
Kuru thanked the Acting Chairman of EFCC for receiving the AMCON delegation and appreciation for his passion and cooperation in the collaboration with AMCON toward recovering the enormous bad debts from recalcitrant obligors of AMCON.
He also thanked the acting chairman for creating that unit that had led to several recoveries. while appreciating the contribution of the AMCON Desk at EFCC.
He said that AMCON was willing to provide the required support to the AMCON Desk at EFCC by providing information, logistics and training to the team.
Recounting AMCON’s role in the economy especially in the banking sector, Kuru said that since its establishment, AMCON acquired debts from 22 banks worth N3.7 trillion and provided financial accommodation to 10 banks of about N2.2 trillion.
He observed that despite AMCON’s recovery efforts, the corporation still holds unresolved loans in excess of N4.6trillion which represents about 75 per cent of total national budget.
The managing director expressed concern that failure on the part of AMCON to resolve the debts will have far reaching implication for the nation at large.
Banks in Nigeria closed 29.4 million accounts as of March 2025, according to the latest report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The figure represents a sharp year-on-year increase of 30.43 per cent from the 22.54 million closed accounts recorded in March 2024.
It also reflects a steady rise in account closures over recent months, with 33.29 million closed accounts reported in February 2025 and 29.43 million in January.
The report also revealed a significant increase in dormant accounts, which surged to 33.39 million in March 2025, up from 19.79 million in the same period in 2024, a 71.3 per cent rise in inactive accounts over the past year.
Despite the spike in closures and dormant accounts, the number of active bank accounts rose from 219.64 million in March 2024 to 320.05 million in March 2025, representing an increase of over 100 million, or 45.7 per cent.
NIBSS defines a dormant account as one that has seen no deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or point-of-sale transaction for a period of six months.
The surge in account closures and dormancy follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive issued in December 2023, mandating commercial banks to restrict Tier-1 accounts not linked to a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) by March 1, 2024.
In response to the directive, BVN enrolment increased from 61.6 million in April 2024 to 66.23 million by July 2025, as more Nigerians rushed to meet the CBN’s compliance deadline.
The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on Public Accounts and Public Assets has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over repeated failure to honour its invitations regarding the probe into non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and Finance Act 2020.
Olayemi Cardoso,, Gov, CBN
In a joint statement released on Friday and signed by Hon. Bamidele Salam and Hon. Ademorin Kuye, chairmen of the committees, the lawmakers decried the CBN governor’s continued disregard for legislative summons.
The committee is investigating the non-remittance of operating surplus as well as the mismanagement of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
According to the committee, the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation reported a liability of N5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surplus due to the federal government from 2016 to 2022; a claim corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate submission to the National Assembly.
The committee cited provisions of the Finance Act 2020, which mandate that unclaimed dividends from publicly listed companies and dormant bank account balances older than six years be transferred into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund. The fund is to be managed by a Governing Council led by the Minister of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Contrary to this, the CBN maintains that the Financial Institutions Act 2020 empowers it to manage dormant balances.
However, the committee noted that the Attorney General of the Federation has issued a legal opinion affirming that the Finance Act 2020 remains the valid law guiding the management of such funds.
Following extensive submissions, the committee resolved that the CBN must remit N3.64 trillion, representing 70% of the undisputed N5.2 trillion operating surplus, within 14 days from receipt of its June 27, 2025, directive, pending final reconciliation of the disputed amount.
Additionally, the apex bank was directed to submit a detailed report on the total sum of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances by June 30, 2025.
The CBN was also ordered to transfer these funds into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund within 14 days and furnish the House with evidence of the transaction.
The lawmakers expressed frustration that, despite the clear directives and ample time, the CBN governor has failed to respond or appear before the joint committee to provide an explanation.
“In view of this continued defiance, the Committee will be compelled to exercise its constitutional powers to compel Mr. Olayemi Cardoso to appear before it,” the statement warned.
Moody’s has upgraded the outlook on Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.
In the latest rating commentary, made available to media on Thursday, Moody’s also affirmed the pan-African banking group’s B3/Not Prime long- and short-term issuer ratings; B3 senior unsecured debt rating; b2 notional Baseline Credit Assessment and b1 Adjusted BCA.
ETI’s subsidiaries operate across 38 countries, including 35 African countries, and total assets of $28.9bn as of March 2025, details from the rating note highlighted. Moody’s said the decision to change the outlook to stable on the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings reflects ETI’s resilient financial performance.
The rating upgrade also takes into consideration higher dividends being upstreamed to ETI, resulting in lower double leverage and reduced refinancing risk.
The rating adjustment also reflects an expectation that the recapitalisation process of Ecobank Nigeria Limited will be completed by the end of 2025, with limited impact on the group’s financial fundamentals.
“The stable outlook also captures our expectation that a series of capital-boosting initiatives and actions to cure Ecobank Nigeria’s total capital position will be completed before the end of 2025”, according to the ratings agency.
In May 2025, ETI received shareholder approval to raise $250 million in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital and announced the launch of the transaction effective 9 July 2025, of which a portion is expected to be downstreamed to Ecobank Nigeria as AT1 capital during Q3 2025.
Ecobank Nigeria’s plan to raise $200m in AT1 capital was noted in the rating note. The ratings analysts said they consider
“We also note that Ecobank Nigeria’s recent successful offer to tender $150m of its February 2026 $300 million notes and consent to remove the capital adequacy ratio covenant from this bond’s terms alleviates risks of an event of default in Nigeria that would trigger cross default at the ETI level. Over the past year, ETI has shown resilience in its financial performance, which supports our change in outlook to stable. Liquidity risks are being moderated by the group’s gradually improving profitability during 2024 and Q1-2025.
“This has translated into a 22 per cent increase in dividends upstreamed to ETI during 2024, these being received from 22 dividend-paying subsidiaries compared to just 14 in 2021,” the rating commentary revealed.
In turn, albeit high, ETI’s double leverage ratio, which measures the liquidity risk taken on by the holding company, as a result of it borrowing in order to invest in the equity of its subsidiaries, has eased to 168 per cent as of December 2024 from 173 per cent in 2023.
Additionally, the stable outlook reflects reduced liquidity risk at the holding company level with the refinancing of short-term liabilities in 2024 with longer-term funding.
Moody’s said this is underpinned by demonstrated market access, notably through senior unsecured notes issuance of $400m in October 2024 and a tap increase of $125m in May 2025, maturing in October 2029.
ETI’s B3 long-term issuer ratings affirmation reflects the affirmation of the group’s b2 notional BCA; the affirmation of the group’s b1 adjusted BCA as captured by a one-notch uplift for affiliate support, reflecting Moody’s assessment of a moderate probability that the firm’s major institutional shareholders would extend support to the group. Moody’s said asset quality for the group has improved over recent years.
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