Foremost Nigerian financial institution, Access Bank Plc’s Group Managing Director Herbert Wigwe has hinted that the bank may take up Etisalat of the UAE for walking away from the loans taken from the bank.
The consortium of banks has taken an impairment on the loan lent to the company. They also made provisions for loans to companies that do business with the firm. Access Bank’s exposure to Etisalat Nigeria amounts to ₦11 billion, with the bank making a provision of 30 per cent.
In a recent interview with Arise TV, Wigwe discussed several issues ranging from why banks are reluctant to take provisions on loans to the power sector and the provisions the bank (as well as other members of the consortium) had made its loan to Etisalat Nigeria.
“With respect to their parent, I think as a starting point, nobody walks into a system and takes so many loans and wakes up to say, ‘Oh I have gone.’ It doesn’t add up. So we still have recourse to them.
Access Bank recently released its Half-Year 2017 results, with gross earnings rising from ₦174 billion in 2016 to ₦246 billion in 2017. The bank declared an interim dividend of 25 kobo. Access bank is currently trading at ₦9.93 as at 11.13am in today’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Etisalat Nigeria had in July last month defaulted on a $1.2 billion loan, it took from a consortium of banks. The firm blamed its default on the sudden devaluation of the Naira against the dollar last year. An attempt by the banks to take over the telco, was blocked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).