CBN, NCC Intervene In Talks Over Etisalat Debt

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday said it will intervene in the talks between Etisalat and a consortium of 13 banks in order to prevent job losses and asset stripping.

   This follows the deepening crisis between the telecom operator and a consortium of 13 Nigerian banks over a 1.2 billion dollars loan default.

CBN spokesman, Mr Isaac Okorafor who confirmed the intervention of the two regulators in the loan dispute, said the CBN believes that Etisalat is a systemically important telecommunications company with over 20 million subscribers that if not well handled, may have domino effects on the banking system itself.
Meanwhile, the CBN and the NCC are expected to meet with the banks and other stakeholders in the coming days, to achieve a satisfactory outcome for all the parties.