Levy placed on banks by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria increased by 18.69 per cent to N188.44bn in 2020 from N158.76bn in 2019.
According to MoneyCentral, the levy made up 15 per cent or N1.15tn of the total operating expenses of the banks as at December 2020.
In the year under review, FBN Holdings Plc’s levy of N44.82bn made up 23.12 per cent of other operating expenses of N191.12bn, while Access Bank’s charge of N35.43bn was 20.12 per cent.
Zenith Bank’s regulatory cost of N30.94bn, which constitutes 12.13 per cent of other operating expenses of N253.33bn, saw the charges go up by eight per cent as at December 2020.
The AMCON charge on United Bank for Africa was N23.12bn, representing 14.13 per cent of other operating expenses of N162.30bn, while charges rose by 15.69 per cent as at December 2020.
Guaranty Trust Bank’s charge of 17.20bn was 16.15 per cent of other operating expenses of N109.83bn. The largest lender by market capitalisation saw regulatory dues increase by 11.06 per cent as at December 2020, the report further asserted.
Analysts, according to the report, said the bad bank should be wound up when the economy stabilises, adding that it was important to bail out beleaguered companies that are capable of creating financial crises.
It quoted an equity research analyst, Ayodeji Ebo, as saying, “I do not think the levy is a burden, because there are gaps to fill.
“The question we should be asking is how much liquidity CBN provides to solve the problem. With the bad bank, customers have confidence in the banking system that they will not lose their money.”
