US Government Endorses Nigeria’s Banking Reform

The ongoing reforms in the banking sector in Nigeria being implemented by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi  ,  governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been endorsed by the United States (US) government. 
Neal S. Wolin , deputy Treasury Secretary of the United States government described the initiative of, Lamido Sanusi, tCBN governor as exemplary. The deputy Treasury Secretary was speaking at the Corporate Council at the US – Africa Business Summit held recently in Washington DC .
He explained that the Reforms in the banking sector in Nigeria was a practical demonstration of what he called ‘‘transformational leadership in Africa’’ and advised developing economies in the sub-Saharan Africa to emulate the bold policy. 
The U.S deputy Treasury Secretary observed that just a few months into Sanusi’s tenure as governor of the Central Bank in Nigeria , he initiated a transparent audit which revealed non-performing loans ratio of 40% in five of the Nigerian largest banks. 
  Neal S. Wolin added  that  the CBN governor, Sanusi replaced the bank’s management and injected a large sum equivalent to  $2.6 billion in equity  to bolster the balance sheet of the banks  and put in place elaborate intervention structure to restore public  confidence and attract foreign and local investors to the sector.
The Nigerian government views the endorsement of the banking reforms by US Government as a welcome development and an appreciation of the effort of President Umar Yar’adua’s administration to align Nigeria ’s economy with global best practices to promote investors’ confidence.