Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria, which was set up to buy bad debts from banks, said losses narrowed in 2017 as the economy rebounded from its worst contraction in more than two decades.The loss for the year through December narrowed to N16.4 billion from N164.9 billion in 2016, according to Executive Director Aminu Ismail. Gross earnings increased by 23 per cent to N341.8 billion as the agency “benefited from a recovery in the economy,” Ismail told reporters in Lagos.
Amcon’s performance is in stark contrast to 2016, when chief executive Ahmed Kuru said the weak economy was hindering efforts to recover loans and other assets it took on in 2011. The Abuja-based institution acquired 12,537 non-performing loans worth N1.7 trillion from 22 financial institutions, following the 2009 banking crisis.
A 21 per cent increase in interest income to N42.6 billion as well as the N41 billion sale of Keystone Bank helped boost performance even as operating expenses rose by 16.2 per cent, Ismail said. “If the economy continues with a positive outlook,” Amcon expects to return to profit this year, Ismail said. The economy of Nigeria expanded 1.95 per cent in the three months through March from a year earlier, after contracting in 2016. It is forecast to grow 2.1 per cent this year by the International Monetary Fund.
Bloomberg
