By Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor
LAGOS — Intercontinental Bank Plc said yesterday that it has recovered N78 billion bad loans since the Central Bank, CBN, intervention on August 14 and said it has improved its risk management. Chief Executive Officer, Mahmoud Alabi, appointed by the Central Bank, said the bank hoped to recover up to N100 billion before year-end.
Intercontinental Bank’s total bad debts stood at around N124.644 billion as at September. Alabi stated that the waiver the bank granted to debtors was in line with its existing policy to encourage debtors to pay.

Vanguard had reported, Monday, that the bank granted N31.134 billion waiver to fifteen of its customers who collectively owed N59.709 billion.

This fact was disclosed by Alabi at an interactive session with Business Editors in Lagos. According to him, “the current debt recovery drive, which has resulted in the recovery of over N78 billion during the last three months, will be aggressively pursued, while a lot of premium will be placed on balance sheet efficiency.

“The business transformation process also includes initiatives to strategically manage cost, increase branch profitability and improve the mix and cost of deposits by aggressively growing savings and current accounts, while maintaining its current strengths in public sector,” he said.

In his reaction to the waivers the bank’s caretaker management, headed by him, granted to debtors,  he said “first of all, when loans have become bad as they are, when the underlying securities have virtually been totally eroded as we have now, then there is a need to give some concessions in order to encourage such debtors to pay, that is exactly what we did and this is the practice in all banks both in Nigeria and worldwide.

“There existed such policy on waivers before the present management assumed office, this was then presented to the credit committee which refined it and presented it to the board which approved it.  But we are contesting with serious issue of moles in the bank, what these people intend to achieve was to malign the bank, frustrate the progress we have made for the purpose of serving certain interests.

“Most of the figures given out are distorted.  For instance, in some cases the amounts they are asked to pay exclude the values of shares the loans were used to purchase.  Also in most cases, the waivers took into consideration wrong debits, penalty charges and other entries in dispute. We need to have in mind that our effort have so far yielded a reward of about N80 billion since the intervention.

“It should also be noted that waivers are not indefinite, they are time bound and if any customer fails to honour its commitment, the waiver stands withdrawn. We shall not be deterred with this kind of distraction, with the aid of some disgruntled insiders, in our task and commitment to reposition this bank as a force to be reckoned with in the banking industry.

“This management has remained focussed in operating in an open manner with a high degree of integrity and transparency.  We are succeeding in introducing a culture of good corporate governance which was entirely lacking in the past.

A few disgruntled elements who are not happy with this new direction are working hard underground to frustrate it.   We shall not allow them”