THE consumer is king. Bankers are seeing the other side of kingly consumers. Some bank debtors are refusing to meet their obligations. They are not even willing to enter the normal banker-client negotiations on terms of redeeming the situation.

Before the 14 August 2009 intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria, how bankers and their clients managed their debts was shrouded in utmost confidentiality. None of the parties was complaining, though some of the banks were straining under the weight of bad loans.

Many bank debtors then claimed sudden recall of their loans jeopardised their businesses. Others said that the harsh economic climate was responsible for their inability to repay loans.

Some of the cases were genuine. There were instances also where the banks did not carry out due diligence on the assets the borrowers used to guarantee the loans. These cases, in addition to loans that were diverted to unauthorised uses are responsible for most of the bad loans banks have.

The embarrassment of publishing debtors’ names and the euphoria that greeted the hyped attempts to recover loans have withered with time. Many have forgotten who the debtors are. Many of them have resurfaced in new roles to rescue Nigeria, mostly as chief launchers at events to benefit politicians.

It is most unlikely that they are not already pressing these relationships to keep the banks at bay. The banks want their money, but the debtors play above the law. They would even prefer the cases go to court, where they believe the matters will rest for a long time, without the banks getting back their money.

The money these debtors have put to other uses is public funds, whether they are deposits or shareholders funds. Their recklessness in denying the rightful owners of the money access to it is a matter that should be treated with more seriousness.

What sense does it make for the Central Bank of Nigeria to pump trillions of public funds into setting up the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, to save the banks when bank debtors are not punished? Are they not waiting for the next round of borrowing once the banks stabilise?

The CBN told Nigerians that 10 Nigerians were owing banks more than N1 trillion. What has happened to the cases? Are the debtors not free? Were the debts ever recovered? What statement is the CBN making with the inability of its management teams for the banks to recover the loans? If one of the main purposes of the clean up in the banks was to recover loans has it been achieved?

Since August 2009, the economy slowed down considerably in reaction to the changes in banks. Loans have ceased and the various developments that would have been benefited from bank credits have been on hold.
Bank managers who granted some of the dubious loans are not on trial, again their powerful collaborators protect them. There is more to unpaid bank loans than the banks are telling us.