The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has urged Nigerians to ignore speculations and rumuors that some banks in the country have gone or may be going into distress.
This was contained in a statement by the apex bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communication, Isaac Okorafor, describing the rumuors as malicious and unfounded.
Okorafor reiterated the CBN’s position do that the speculations do not reflect the actual health of the individual banks and, indeed, the entire banking industry.
He stated that the infusion of a new Board and Management for Skye Bank Plc is a proactive regulatory action meant to ensure that the bank does not continue to fail in its relevant prudential ratios, insisting that neither Skye Bank nor any other bank in the industry is in distress.
“The CBN would like to request the general public to ignore speculations or rumours to the contrary as they could only be the handiwork of mischief makers who do not mean well for the Nigerian banking system and its economy,” Okorafor stated.
“As the regulator of the industry, the CBN hereby reassures the banking and general public that their deposits remain safe in any Nigerian bank.”
Okorafor advised that there is no need for panic withdrawals from any bank as “going by both the CBN’s Examination Reports as well as analysis from market watchers, International Credit Rating Agencies, and Development Finance Institutions, the Nigerian banking industry remains strong in spite of the global economic challenges emanating from the collapse of global commodity prices.”
He urged the banking public to remain calm and not panic as there was no cause for alarm.