The Bank of Industry has blacklisted 24 companies, which allegedly failed to repay loans granted to them.
The Managing Director of the bank, Rasheed Olaoluwa, announced this on Friday in Lagos during the induction of 10 customers into its hall of fame.
Olaoluwa alleged that the blacklisted companies were also involved in shady deals.
He said that the BOI decided to “name and shame the bad customers’’ to help Nigerian banks to identify business people with no respect for integrity and purpose.
He alleged that the 24 companies cloned and falsified documents and diverted loans to non-profitable ventures.
He said: “We decided to do this as two sides of a coin. Just as we have had exemplary customers, we also have had the very bad and difficult ones.
“Some of these customers provided cloned title documents; thus, committing outright frauds.
“In addition to naming these companies, we have also exposed their directors and shareholders in order to put leading institutions and credit bureaus on notice.
“Twenty-four companies have been identified, and they will experience the ignominy of belonging to our hall of shame.
“Their names have also been published on our website.”
On the other hand, Olaoluwa said that the 10 companies inducted into its hall of fame obtained credit facilities from the bank at least twice and fully repaid the loans.
Olaoluwa said that the companies had proven that integrity was not a function of size or of business environment.
He said: “They have shown considerable honour and character that we commend and applaud.
“We blacklist only those that have no respect for integrity and not worthy of doing credible business with.
“As a bank, our hope and prayer is that we increase the number of customers in the hall of fame and minimize the blacklist.”
Olaoluwa said that the BOI Board of Directors approved the establishment of the hall of fame into which exemplary and outstanding customers would be inducted.
“As a development bank, we derive our funding from government resources that are limited, finite and subject to competing demands,” he said.
He said that the effect of any loan default was severe, with certain socio-economic consequences capable of defeating government’s objectives of financing the strategic sectors of the economy.
“When customers default on loans, they deprive other Nigerian businesses of the much needed access to finance,” he said. (The Eagle Online)
