The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria will soon begin the disposal of risk assets of liquidated banks.Risk assets are bank assets subject to change in value due to changes in market conditions.The Managing Director, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, who confirmed the development in Abuja on Sunday, said that the fund realised from the disposal would help the corporation to fulfil its statutory obligation as a liquidator.The realised amount, according to him, will facilitate the payment of dividends to depositors and other eligible claimants of the liquidated banks.There are currently 45 banks in liquidation and as at December 31, 2010, a total of N19.32bn was realised from the disposal of physical assets of the failed banks.Of this amount, it was learnt that funds realised from landed property amounted to N15.52bn while the balance was realised from chattels, sale of vehicles and power generators.But despite this, there are still huge assets that need to be disposed of to raise the needed fund for the corporation to fulfil its obligation.Prior to the recapitalisation exercise of 2006, 34 banks were liquidated, while 11 others were wound up owing to their inability to meet the recapitalisation deadline.The 11 banks that failed to meet the deadline were African Express Bank Plc, Allstates Trust Bank Plc, Assurance Bank Nigeria Plc, City Express Bank Limited and Eagle Bank Plc.Others were Gulf Bank Plc, Hallmark Bank Plc, Lead Bank Plc, Liberty Bank Plc, Metropolitan Bank Plc and Trade Bank Plc.Umaru said, The NDIC has commenced discussion with AMCON to use its platform to dispose of some of the risk assets of banks in liquidation.To facilitate the disposal of their risk assets, he said, NDIC has completed the segregation of all accounts with outstanding balances of N100m and above which will be offloaded to AMCON.In furtherance of this objective, plans have already been concluded to assign all accounts with balances of between N50m and N100m (205 in all) to lawyers (debt recovery agents).The NDIC had said that it had so far paid N6.151bn out of N11.57bn dividend declared to depositors of the 35 DMBs that were closed during the pre-consolidation era. Ibrahim, had said in a forum in Lagos that the corporation had also paid N3.303bn out of N5.241bn insured deposits of the 35 banks.He added that NDIC had concluded payment of N2.03bn to 69,000 depositors of 91 out of 92 microfinance banks who approached the corporation to claim their deposits.Arrangements have also been concluded to continue with the payment through branches of Intercontinental Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc. Im happy to state that we have concluded arrangements to commence payment of insured depositors of Fortune and Triumph Banks through Access BankPlc and Intercontinental Bank, Ibrahim said.
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