CBN debunks claim of distressed banks

THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked the claim by some media that some banks in the country are on the brinks of collapse because of stringent economic policies.
In a statement released by the apex bank’s Director Corporate Communication, Alhaji Ibrahim Mu’azu, said: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a fictitious online publication purporting that some deposit money banks in Nigeria are ‘experiencing stress.’
“The CBN wishes to state categorically that no Nigerian bank is ‘experiencing stress.’ The story as published is not only false and baseless but a figment of the writer’s imaginations.
“The CBN hereby assures the banking public that the Nigerian banking system is sound and all banks are in compliance with both the regulatory and prudential requirements.
“The Governor, on November 24, 2015, during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) press briefing, also made it categorically clear that no Nigerian bank is in distress.
“The CBN, therefore, urges all bank customers and the general public to disregard the publication as it is false, mischievous and aimed at throwing the banking public into unnecessary panic.”
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday while addressing the press at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting said the Central Bank had its own internal mechanism for determining the strategic health of all banks through its daily stress testing of the operations and activities of banks.
While debunking the authenticity of the report, he said categorically that no Nigerian bank is experiencing stress and that the story as published was not only false and baseless but a figment of the writer’s imaginations.
The apex bank therefore assured the banking public of the soundness of all banks, adding that they have been complying with both the regulatory and prudential requirements.
It urged bank customers to disregard the flawed report of the online medium which it described as false, mischievous and aimed at throwing the banking public into unnecessary panic and to continue to do business with their banks without fear.