Frauds in banks increase to N25.6billion; ...10,612 cases reported in 2014

The Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria has reported a ₦3.81 billion or 17.5 per cent increase in the value of fraud cases from ₦21.80 billion in 2013 to ₦25.61 billion in 2014.

The amount involved 10,612 fraud cases in 2014 compared with 3,786 cases reported in 2013, representing an increase of 182.77 per cent.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) made this known in its
2014 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts released on Tuesday.

According to the corporation, the expected/actual loss increased from ₦5.76 billion in 2013 to ₦6.19 billion in 2014.

"The increase of 7.57 per 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 reported stated.

However, NDIC said the banking industry performance and level of soundness in 2014 indicated that 23 DMBs were rated sound and satisfactory during the period under review, meaning that, "overall, the banking industry was safe and sound in 2014."

The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the Deposit Money Banks declined by 1.26 percentage points from 17.18 per cent in 2013 to 15.92 per cent in 2014, but exceeded the minimum capital adequacy threshold of 10 per cent the report stated.

The industry average liquidity ratio rose from 50.63 per cent in 2013 to 53.65 per cent in 2014 showing an increase of 3.02 per cent over the 50.63 per cent in 2013.

It further showed that individually, 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 corporation revealed that as of 31st December, 2014, the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) stood at ₦614.16 billion as against ₦508.06 billion reported as of 31st December, 2013. That was an increase of ₦106.10 billion or 20.88 per cent over the 2013 figure.

A review of the banking industry sectoral distribution of credits to the various sectors of the economy indicated that top 10 sectors out of 22 accounted for 87.35 per cent of total credits in 2014 compared with 81.99 per cent in the previous year.

Credit: Chima Nwokoji/Nigerian Tribune