Apex bank blasts rumors saying banks are in distress, urges public to be calm

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reports that some banks in the country may have undergone or may be going into distress.

Isaac Okorafor, acting director of corporate communications at the CBN, made this known in a statement on Wednesday, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek reports.

The apex bank also refuted claims that Skye Bank was suffering, assuring the general public of the safety of their deposits in any Nigerian bank.

“The CBN wishes to reiterate in the strongest terms that these rumours and speculations are untrue and do not reflect the actual health of the individual banks and, indeed, the entire banking industry.

ALSO READ: CBN says country's banking industry remains 'strong'

“For the avoidance of doubt, the infusion of a new Board and Management for Skye Bank PLC is a proactive regulatory action meant to ensure that the bank does not continue to fail in its relevant prudential ratios.

“Neither Skye Bank nor any other bank in the industry is in distress,” the CBN maintained in the statement.

As the regulator of the industry and topmost bank in the country, the bank reassured the banking and general public that there was no need for panic withdrawals from any bank.

We will see if these statements hold any water in the near future as the Skye Bank saga has put industry stakeholders on their toes, as Nigeria continues to wallow in economic uncertainty.