Shareholders of banks have condemned banks’ contribution to the sinking fund operated by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

Known as the Resolution Cost Fund, the sinking fund was set up to assist AMCON to meet its goals and also ensure that government will not bear the cost of financial crisis in future.

Each bank is required to contribute 0.5 percent of total assets and 0.5 percent of 33 percent of their off balance sheet items to the sinking fund.

Sir Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, however described the contribution has a waste of shareholders money. Speaking at the 2013 annual general meeting of Diamond Bank in Lagos last week, Nwosu said, “The question here is of what benefit is AMCON ? AMCON is robbing shareholders of benefits that ought to have come to the seed providers. So I want to know what benefit we are getting. Is it the benefit of the cheap assets they have taken from us or is it the continuous waste on that side”.

Similarly, Mr. Boniface Okezie, President of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, criticised banks’ contributions to AMCON. He said AMCON is not a friend of shareholders, and if it cannot survive without collecting money from banks, it better wind up. AMCON should not be taking from us. I don’t see what they are doing.

In his response, Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Diamond Bank, Mr. Alex Otti, said he agreed with the views expressed by the shareholders on banks’ contributions to the AMCON sinking fund. He said he opposed the idea when it was initiated at the Bankers Committee, but his opposition was ignored.

Meanwhile shareholders of the bank approved the dividend of 30 kobo per share proposed by the board of the bank. Otti assured the shareholders that the dividend is the least the bank would pay assuring that going forward the bank would pay dividend every year.