First Bank Holdings led other eleven commercial banks listed on the Nigerian stock market with the highest payment to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Sector Resolution Funds in the first quarter of 2022.
The twelve banks are Access, GCMB, Fidelity, FBN, GTCo, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling, UBA, Union, Unity, Wema, and Zenith Bank.
First Bank Holdings paid the highest AMCON charges in the first quarter of 2022 with N29.1 billion, an 89.6 per cent increase compared to N15.33 billion paid in the corresponding period of 2021.
This is following a 3 per cent increase in its total asset to N9.21 trillion as of the same period. The holding company has paid over N207.49 billion to AMCON in the last five years.
Second on the list is Access Bank, with N26.69 billion, representing a 26.8 per cent increase from N21.04 billion paid in the first quarter of 2021.
Zenith Bank followed with a N21.4 billion AMCON payment, which is 12.8 per cent higher than the N18.96 billion paid in the considering period of the previous year.
Its assets are stated to stand at N10.52 trillion, the second-largest bank by assets. Zenith Bank has paid N151.63 billion in AMCON charges in the past five years.
GTCo and Stanbic IBTC followed in the list with N11.64 billion and N8.71 billion respective payments in the first quarter of 2022, while their total assets stood at N5.49 trillion and N3.09 trillion.
According to the data collected by the financials of the listed banks, AMCON bank charges increased by 29.5 per cent from N97.18 billion paid in the corresponding period of 2021 to N125.9 billion in the review quarter.
The rising bad loans and the need to save the banking industry from imminent collapse prompted the federal government to set up AMCON in 2010 with a 10-year mandate. The AMCON Act 2019 (Amended) grants the corporation more powers to recover bad debts from obligors.