Anthony Osae-Brown

Since there seems to be a consensus that the FGN should make some sacrifice if it wants Nigerians to accept subsidy removal, I have taken the liberty to paste below a tabular representation of the 2012 budget available on the website of the budget office. Since we want cuts in public expenditure, perhaps, those interested in figures can take a look at it and suggest the expenditures that we do not need.

For the business community, one area that they will be paying keen attention in 2011 will be the Nigerian banking sector. Would the crisis plaguing the sector finally be put to rest? The banking sector remain vital to the survival of businesses and how the crisis currently preventing the banking sector from playing their critical role in the Nigerian economy is resolved in 2011 will be important.

It is sometimes baffling that US with all its high financial disclosure standards still ended up with failed companies like Enron and WorldCom. Even with Sarbanes Oxley, Lehman still failed. Is it a failure of regulation or failure of inadequate disclosure?

Inflation, Naira Depreciation, Continuing Credit freeze, low bank earnings, Unresolved banking recapitalization and the fate of four banks are some of the risks that will face operators in the Nigerian financial sector in the remaining half of 2010.

Source Capital and BusinessDAY have come out with an innovative way to improve the level of financial disclosure and transparency in published annual reports. The introduction of a ranking of quoted companies based on the level of financial disclosure and transparency in their published annual reports will improve the contents of annual reports in Nigeria.

In its pursuit of its banking reforms, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pumped N420 billion into five banks and has placed another N200 billion on standby for the new set of 4 banks it just took over in the last set of its banking audit. This will bring the total funds injected into the banks to N620 billion with speculation that this will increase to N1 trillion naira.

Emerging facts are casting doubts on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s classification of the last three Banks it audited, namely Bank PHB Plc, Spring Bank, and ETB as being in a “grave” situation. The doubts have arisen following revelations that the N200 billion the CBN said it has injected into the said Banks were not made available to the Banks.

In the current crisis ravaging the Nigerian banking industry, most bankers are wondering why the morning newspapers have nothing good to say about Nigerian banks. Going by the headlines every morning, most bankers are on the verge of depression wondering “why do they hate us so much?”

What may have started as an honest attempt to save the Nigerian banking industry is gradually degenerating into a major economic crisis. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) daring move which saw the sudden sack of five bank Managing Directors have left the Nigerian economy with serious collateral damage that will task the economic management skills of the apex bank.

How would the current crisis in the Nigerian banking system affect the way banking is done in the country? What are the lessons to be learnt and what are the strategies Nigerian banks should adopt to overcome the many negative impact that this crisis will leave behind? Do the regulators stand to learn from this crisis?