Report of the Report of the Managing Director/C Managing

Report Of The Managing Director/CDirector/CEOEOEOEO I am delighted to present the report of the activities and operations of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) for the financial year ended 31 December, 2009. The year 2009 started on a cautious note against the backdrop of heightened global financial crisis which started in 2007 and snowballed into recession of many economies including those of USA and many European countries. The Nigerian economy and the financial system, which had their fair share of the global economic meltdown, staged a modest recovery in the second half of year 2009, largely as a result of the series of pre-emptive measures taken by the nation’s Monetary Authorities. In 2009, the NDIC celebrated its 20 th Anniversary of successfully discharging its mandate of protecting depositors and contributing to financial system stability in Nigeria. As in the last 20 years, the Corporation during the year continued to focus on improving service delivery to the depositing public in fulfillment of its mandate of depositor protection. In this 20 th edition of the NDIC Annual Report, an overview of the activities of NDIC and its modest achievements in 2009 are presented. Let me reiterate that NDIC had continued to be guided by strict observance of the principles of transparency, professionalism, integrity, accountability and independence in the discharge of its mandate. The highlights of the Annual Report are encapsulated in the remaining sections of my report. 1 1.0 Deposit Insurance Premium In line with the principle of fairness in deposit insurance pricing and the commitment to the reduction in the overall premium burden on banks, the NDIC continued to implement the Differential Premium Assessment System (DPAS) for the 24 universal banks in the system. At the end of 2009, the maximum rate paid by an insured bank was 73 basis points, a basis point lower than the maximum rate paid in 2008. The minimum paid by the least risky bank was 55 basis points as against 54.50 basis points paid in 2008 whilst the mean rate for all the banks in 2009 was about 61.19 basis points. A basic challenge in the implementation of the new method was the need for banks to render timely, complete, reliable and consistent information and data that would enable NDIC to adequately measure the risk posed to the system. Another major challenge in 2009 was that many of the licensed microfinance banks and primary mortgage institutions did not pay premium to NDIC. 2.0 Ensuring Adequacy of the Deposit Insurance Coverage An appropriate coverage limit is one of the key determinants of an effective deposit insurance system. Such a limit, will serve to enhance credibility of the deposit insurance system as a key component of the financial safety net arrangement. As part of the determination to proactively respond to changes in the environment within which it operates, NDIC initiated a research work on deposit insurance coverage limit with a view to making appropriate adjustment in the deposit insurance coverage levels which were hitherto fixed at N200,000 for universal banks and N100,000 for microfinance banks (MFBs) and Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs). The preliminary survey report of 2 the research had been completed while the final report was expected to be completed in early 2010. When completed, the report would enable the Board of NDIC to review the existing coverage levels for licensed deposit-taking financial institutions in the system as appropriate. 3.0 Developing Effective Risk Management Framework Within NDIC As a deposit insurer for all licensed deposit-taking financial institutions in Nigeria, we operate in a dynamic environment, with diverse internal and external risk exposures. The NDIC had thus recognized that management of risks is an integral part of sound management. As a risk minimiser, NDIC had to closely monitor the exposure of the Deposit Insurance Funds (DIF) to losses and ensure early intervention to minimize disruption and costs to the financial system. In 2009, the implementation of the NDIC’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework commenced. This was aimed at ensuring that all significant risks to NDIC were identified, measured, managed, monitored, controlled and communicated in a systematic, coordinated, efficient and effective manner. 4.0 Failure Resolution Activities In 2009, the licence of Societe Generale Bank (SGBN), one of the 14 banks that was adjudged insolvent and failed to meet the N25billion minimum recapitalization requirement as at the end of December, 2005 was restored by the Court. That development brought the number of banks closed after the consolidation exercise to thirteen (13). As at the end of 2009, NDIC had obtained court winding-up orders for eleven (11) 3 out of the thirteen (13) banks and was thus appointed official liquidator. The shareholders of the remaining two (2) banks, namely: Fortune International Bank and Triumph Bank were still challenging the revocation of their banks’ licences in court, while the litigation in respect of the revocation of the banking licence of Peak Merchant Bank Ltd was yet to be resolved. Also, during the year, the Court of Appeal in Abuja reinstated the banking licence of Savannah Bank of Nigeria Plc (SBN) which had been revoked by the CBN in 2002 and also ordered the return of all the assets of the bank to the shareholders. With these developments, the total number of banks whose licences were revoked by the CBN between 1994 and 2009 stood at 48. The NDIC continued with the liquidation of the remaining 34 out of 35 failed banks that were closed prior to 2006 and the 11 out of the 13 banks closed in 2006. In that respect, payment of insured deposits and liquidation dividends, payment to creditors and shareholders of the banks in-liquidation were made in 2009. It would be recalled that in 2006, NDIC implemented the Purchase and Assumption (P&A) as aresolution option to wind up the affairs of the 11 banks for which NDIC had been appointed liquidator. In the process, all private sector deposits of those banks were assumed and some of their assets purchased by the acquiring healthy banks. In implementing the (P&A) option, the NDIC was confronted with challenges such as legal constraints and the burden of the acquisition of the risk assets of the failed banks that were not purchased with a view to realizing them. 4 As at the end of December 2009, NDIC had made a total payment of N7,147.23 million to insured depositors of the 48 banks-in-liquidation while the sum of N77,102.46 million had been paid as liquidation dividends to 249,784 uninsured depositors in those banks-in-liquidation. During the year, additional liquidation dividends were also declared for the uninsured depositors of closed Trade Bank, Afex Bank and Allstates Trust Bank. In addition, it is important to note that a 100 percent final dividend had been declared for 11 out of the 34 banks that were in liquidation before 2006. Also as at end of December 2009, a total dividends of N1,182.68 million had been declared in favour of the general creditors of 7 out of the 34 banks-in-liquidation while the sum of N727.40 million had been paid to those creditors who filed their claims. 5.0 Supervisory Activities of NDIC Banking supervision is one of the key activities of NDIC in protecting depositors as well as promoting the safety and stability of the Nigerian banking system. In 2009, NDIC continued to monitor the insured financial institutions through both On-Site Examination and Off-Site Surveillance procedures. During the year, NDIC jointly conducted the special examination of the 24 deposit money banks with the CBN to ascertain their true financial condition and to enable the Regulatory Authorities adopt necessary supervisory measures that would restore and sustain public confidence in the banking system. Some of the examination reports revealed serious weaknesses in corporate governance. The weaknesses in corporate governance 5 manifested in, poor risk management; weak board and management oversight; inaccurate financial reporting; abuse and fraudulent use of subsidiaries; poor book-keeping practices; non-compliance with banking laws, rules and regulations; and non-performing insider-related credits, among others. Other weaknesses discovered included declining asset quality and attendant large provisioning requirements and undue exposure to the capital market through share loans and margin loans as well as to the oil and gas sector. All the observed weaknesses culminated in huge non-performing loans and insolvency of varying degrees in many of the banks. The development led to the removal of the executive managements of 8 out of the existing 24 banks and the injection of a bail-out sum of N620 billion by the CBN as liquidity support to the problem banks. All these were undertaken to ensure that depositors were adequately protected and that the system remained safe and sound. During the same period, the NDIC examined 133 other financial institutions out of which 124 were microfinance banks (MFBs) while 9 were primary mortgage institutions (PMIs). The NDIC was able to achieve all these despite the major challenge of inadequate supervisory staff. Presently, the NDIC is making efforts to engage more staff to boost its supervisory capacity. 6.0 Staff Capacity Building The NDIC remained committed to the training of its staff to realize the most out of its human resources, regarded as a critical success factor for 6 the attainment of its vision and mission. Hence in 2009, local and overseas trainings were given to staff to enhance their competency and efficiency in the discharge of their responsibilities towards achieving the statutory mandate of NDIC. 7.0 Corporate Social Responsibility As in previous years, the NDIC, as part of its corporate social responsibility and in appreciation of the role of human capital in the economic growth and development of the country, continued to be actively involved in voluntary activities which were outside its statutory mandate by supporting programmes and projects for the benefit of higher institutions of learning in the country.

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