Yemisi Izuora
Internet fraudsters have perpetrated acts that caused depositors and banks to lose N6.2 billion.
The monumental loss recorded in 2014,involved cases related to internet banking and ATM scam,
a report by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has revealed.
The report said that in 2014 cases of fraud recorded by banks grew by 182.77 per cent.
The total number such scams grew astronomically from 3,786 cases in 2013, to 10,612 cases in 2014, the report said.
While it involved about ₦25.61billion in 2014 (compared to N21.80billion the previous year), the actual loss was N6.19 billion.
By contrast, the actual loss in 2013 was N5.76 billion, the report said.
In all, the major catalyst for the rising scale of fraud, was internet and ATM banking.
“The expected/actual loss increased from ₦5.76 billion in 2013 to ₦6.19 billion in 2014,” the report states.
“The increase of 7.57per cent in expected/actual loss in fraud and forgeries was mainly due to the astronomical increase in the incidence of web-based (online banking)/ATM and fraudulent transfer/withdrawal of deposit frauds.”
The NDIC said total loans and advances granted climbed from ₦10.04trillion in 2013 to ₦12.63trillion the following year.
However, despite significant improvement in banking industry’s asset quality, the volume of non-performing loans rose from ₦321.66billion in 2013 to ₦354.84bn in 2014, the report said.
The NDIC said it was confident there was no cause for alarm over the ratio of the bad debts to total loans, as it considered it within the regulatory threshold of 5%.
“All the DMBs in the industry had liquidity ratios in excess of the minimum prudential requirement of 30 per cent, as at 31st December 2014, indicating that all DMBs were sufficiently liquid,” the report said.
To provide reliable information on the banks’ risk assets quality, adequacy of loan loss provisioning and capital adequacy positions, the NDIC said it carried out the risk assessment of all deposit banks in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The examination, it said, revealed 15 banks with “high” and “above average” composite risk rating, while eight others had “low” and “moderate” rating, showing their level of compliance with banking rules and regulations, their risk appetite and the adequacy of their risk management frameworks.
The report said the oil and gas sector led the banking industry sectoral credits distribution, accounting for 25.74% of the top ten of 22 sectors of the economy that accounted for 87.35% of total credits, compared with 81.99% in the previous year.
The manufacturing sector was next with 13.19%, while the other sectors accounted for 12.65%, as against 18.01% of the total credits extended by the DMBs in 2013.