The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it has no intention of liquidating any of the 24 banks in the country.

This clarification was made last Friday against the backdrop of some misinformation in the form of text messages that were being circulated to the effect that it was about to liquidate three banks, namely: Oceanic Bank Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc.

In a statement from CBN’s Head of Corporate Communications, Muhammed Ab-dullahi, the apex bank stated that no such decision had been taken.

“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to SMS text messages being circulated alleging that the CBN is about to liquidate the following three banks: Oceanic, Intercontinental and Unity banks and therefore advising customers to withdraw their money from these banks within 24 hours.

It added: The CBN wishes to state categorically that no such liquidation notice has been issued and there is therefore no plan to liquidate any of the three banks, and members of the public are advised to disregard these messages”.

The CBN advised all depositors and customers of the three banks to continue to conduct their business with the banks and disregard the text massages.

In the same fashion, the management of Oceanic Bank has flayed misleading text messages on the purported liquidation notice served on some banks by the CBN as the handiwork of mischief makers.

The bank’s management stressed that there is no iota of truth in the purported liquidation notice as no bank operating in the country is under any threat of liquidation by the CBN.

It also flayed media reports on planned picketing activities in certain banks, adding that Oceanic Bank maintains cordial relations with labour in keeping with its policy on relating with its workforce transparently and humanely.

The bank further refuted claims on the alleged retrenchment in the organisation, adding that its inclusion among banks to be picketed as reported in the newspapers was based on misinformation to labour leaders.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Oceanic Bank John Aboh said the bank’s management has reached out to labour and is optimistic that the picketing will not materialise.

“Oceanic Bank has the highest regard for its workforce and has always involved relevant labour unions in its activities. We are working closely with the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI) to set the record straight”.

According to Aboh, the bank will pursue a four-pronged recapitalisation plan to achieve the N25 billion minimum capitalisation required for national commercial banks.

These include: organic means through profit from operations, sale of assets to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON financial accommodation to bring the negative shareholders funds to zero, and injection of fresh capital from strategic investors.

The bank disclosed that it recently concluded the sale of some of its non-performing loans to AMCON and received bonds worth over N200 billion in exchange.

This has greatly improved the liquidity position of Oceanic Bank and boosted its liquidity ratios above levels stipulated by the CBN.

The bank also indicated that it has opted to go for a National Commercial Banking license in compliance with the revised banking model outlined by the CBN.

The Board of Directors of the Bank has resolved to apply for a National Commercial Banking licence under a stand-alone operating model, the bank stated.