Fifteen out of the 24deposit money banks(DMBS) operating in the country are adjudged to be safe and sound, six marginal while three are said to be unsound and not safe.The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) gave the verdict in its 2010 Annual Report and Statements of Accounts released at the weekend in Abuja.According to the report, the level of soundness and the industry performance improved during the period under review when compared to the performance in 2009.The financial condition of 15 of the 24 banks were rated as sound and satisfactory in 2010, compared with 13 of the previous year; six were rated as marginal as against one in 2009, while only three banks remained in the unsound category compare with 10 in 2009.During the period under review, the NDIC report indicated that the share of assets and deposits of the unsound banks accounted for 2.82 per cent and 0.44 per cent of the industry total as against 33.56 per cent and 33. 65 per cent as at December 2009.Similarly, the NDIC said the share of assets and deposits of unsound banks accounted for 2.82 per cent and 0,44 per cent of the industry.The share of total credits of the unsound banks also reduced significantly from 42.65 per cent of the industry total as of December 2009 to 1.40 per cent as of end of December 2010.'The various statistics was an indication that the nation's banking industry benefited immensely from the stringent regulatory actions and restructuring efforts that took place in the country's banking industry in the year under review,' the report claimed.The banking industry capital adequacy ratio deteriorated by 5.92 per cent from the 10.24 per cent recorded in December 2009 to 4.32 per cent as of December 2010, which was far below the minimum prudential of 10 per cent.NDIC said the significant decline could be attributed to the inability of some banks to make adequate provision for their toxic loans as recommended by CBN/NDIC examiners during the year under review.In terms of assets quality, the report showed that the banking industry witnessed substantial improvements in the quality of assets, a feat attributed to the development in the industry such as the purchase of toxic assets and margin loans in the first phase of transaction.On earnings and profitability, the report indicated a slight improvements in earnings in the banking industry in the period under review due partly to the intervention of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) with the purchase of N2.16 trillion toxic assets and margin loans from the banking industry at a discounted rate of N770.54 billion.The 24 DMBs in the country lost about N11.68 billion to frauds and forgeries in the fiscal year 2010.In the report, there was a total of 1,532 reported cases of attempted frauds and forgeries involving over N21 billion in 2010 compared with 1,764reported cases of fraud and forgeries in 2009.
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