The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on Tuesday said the nation’s banking industry remained strong and sound.

The NDIC made this known in its 2015 Annual Report which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

The document said the banking industry’s total assets grew marginally by 1.36 per cent, while total loans and advances rose by 5.56 per cent.

It said that shareholder’s funds, unimpaired by losses, increased by 14.02 per cent, while capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.66 per cent.

The document, however, noted that total deposit liabilities declined by 2.83 per cent, while unaudited profits decreased by 2.02 per cent.

In the period under review, the document showed that non-performing loans increased by 82.87 per cent.

According to the document, the banking industry’s capital base remains strong.

“The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the industry was 17.66 per cent in 2015, compared with 15.92 per cent in 2014, but exceeded the minimum threshold of 10 per cent and 15 per cent for national and international banks, respectively.

“ Two DMBs had CAR below the prescribed threshold of 10 per cent in 2015,’’ the report said.

On the economy, the report said that the total loans and advances to the Nigerian economy stood at ₦13.33 trillion in 2015, showing an increase of 5.56 per cent over the ₦12.63 trillion reported in 2014.

“The non-performing loans to total loans ratio for the industry increased from 2.81 per cent in 2014 to 4.87 per cent in 2015, but was within the regulatory threshold of 5 per cent,’’ the report said.

The document said that in 2015, the banking industry operated profitably, though earnings and profitability deteriorated.

It said that the unaudited Profit-Before-Tax (PBT) of the banking industry stood at ₦588.86 billion as at Dec. 31, 2015, representing a decrease of 2.02 per cent over the ₦601.02 billion reported as at Dec. 31, 2014.

The document noted that the industry’s liquidity position was strong as its average liquidity ratio rose slightly from 53.65 per cent in 2014 to 58.18 per cent in 2015.

“All the individual DMBs have liquidity ratios above the prudential minimum threshold of 30 per cent, as at Dec. 31, 2015,’’ the reports also said.