AMCON’s involvement in 230 firms not for running businesses

Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has said that its involvement in receivership of about 50 businesses and more than 180 businesses under enforcement does not mean that it is running businesses as perceived by some people.

A statement from the Corporate Communications Department of the Corporation over the weekend, which restated that AMCON’s intervention in the country actually prevented the collapse of so many businesses, maintained that AMCON is going about its mandate for which it was created by the federal government in 2010 to manage the huge Non Performing Loans (NPLs) in the banking sector.

In furtherance of the Corporation’s responsibility of acquiring Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) and putting them to economic use in a profitable manner, AMCON, the statement added

It maintained by way explanation that there are some perceived misconceptions in public domain insinuating that AMCON has taken over some businesses for the purpose of running them.

The Corporation therefore eiterated that its primary assignments as mandated by the Act establishing it empowers AMCON in recovery, restructuring and resolution of debts and that it has not in any way abdicated that assignment to ‘run businesses.’

“AMCON has never and will not run any business. But as facilitators, we encourage competent professionals to manage businesses. So it is important we correct this wrong perception in some quarters,” the statement added.

According to the Corporation, these interventions have saved so many businesses from going under, meaning that AMCON’s involvements is in order and therefore cannot be faulted.

The statement noted that some 400 obligors of AMCON account for more than N4.5 trillion, which is approximately 80 per cent of the total outstanding loan balance of the Corporation’s over twelve thousand (12,000) accounts with obligors that have become recalcitrant over time despite obvious recovery efforts of the Corporation.

In dealing with the challenge however, the Corporation has seriously increased the tempo of its recovery activities using firmer negotiation strategies as well as utilizing the special enforcement powers vested by the AMCON Act to compel some of its recalcitrant debtors especially those that are politically exposed and business heavyweights to repay their debts.