above, it is evident that the five banks accounted for a disproportionate component of the total exposure to capital market and oil and gas, thus reflecting heavy concentration to high risk areas relative to other banks in the industry. 4. the huge provisioning requirements have led to significant capital impairment. consequently, all the banks are undercapitalized for their current levels of operations and are required to increase their provisions for loan losses, which impacted negatively on their capital. indeed one is technically insolvent with a capital adequacy ratio of ( 1. 01 % ). thus, a minimum capital injection of n204, 94 billion will be required in the 5 banks to meet the minimum capital adequacy ratio of 10 %. 5. the five banks were either perennial net - takers of funds in the inter - bank market or enjoyed liquidity support from the cbn for long periods of time, a clear evidence of illiquidity. in other words, these banks were unable to meet their maturing obligations as they fall due without resorting to the cbn or the inter - bank market. as a matter of fact, the outstanding balance on the edw of the five banks amounted to n127. 85 billion by end july 2009, representing 89. 81 % of the total industry exposure to the cbn on its discount window while their net guaranteed inter - bank takings stood at n253. 30 billion as at august 02, 2009. their liquidity ratios ranged from 17. 65 % to 24 % as at may 31, 2009. ( regulatory minimum is 25 % ). it is important to note that at least three of the banks are systemically important ( accounting for more than 5 % of assets and deposits in the banking system ) and together the five banks account for 39. 93 % of loans, 29. 99 % of deposits, and 31. 47 % of total assets as at may 31, 2009. given the extent of the asset quality problem leading to liquidity stresses, and the variety of stress points on the banks'balance sheets, failure to act to secure the financial health of these banks will clearly place the system at risk. the central bank has a responsibility to act to protect all depositors and creditors and ensure that no one loses money due to bank failure. the bank also needs to move decisively to remove this principal cause of financial instability and restore confidence in the banking system. consequently, having reviewed all the reports of the examiner

of 1, 743 trainees were linked to financial institutions from which they obtained loans amounting to n227. 84 million to start or expand their businesses. this first phase of the cbn - edc initiative came to an end april 2013 having operated for 5 years. ladies and gentlemen, for sustainability purposes, i am pleased to inform you that the management of the bank has extended the tenure of the first phase cbn - edcs by an additional three years to enable the host state governments in the aforementioned zones key in and participate actively in the enhanced edc model. the bank is therefore in the process of putting together phase 2 of the programme for the south - east, north - west and south - west zones. 6. 0 the modest achievements recorded and the experiences of the edc have encouraged the bank to roll out the project in the remaining three geopolitical zones of northeast ( maiduguri ), north - central ( markudi ) and south - south ( calabar ). to date the new centres have trained all together 1, 381 participants in the first half of 2013, in spite of teething challenges faced. i particularly appreciate the government of cross river state for allocating a temporary training venue for the implementing agency, sheild academy bis central bankers ’ speeches partners to commence its training activities before today ’ s official flag - off of this magnificent building that will permanently host the centre. 7. 0 permit me at this point to take a few minutes to provide a brief highlight on the edc to create an understanding of its concept, operational modality and what is required from stakeholders ( government, cbn, implementing agencies, and financial institutions etc ) to make the programme a success. 8. 0 the edc provides a platform for state governments, private sector and the central bank of nigeria to jointly support entrepreneurship development across the country. the centres provide facilities for training particularly secondary school leavers and university graduates to obtain skills on how to identify, choose, and practically engage in profitable production of goods and services. 9. 0 the state government is expected to provide the enabling environment through the provision of conducive structure and a site for the centres, while the central bank of nigeria engages private consultants to independently operate the centres. it is worth reiterating that the states where the edcs are located and the implementation agency were selected through a competitive bidding process to guarantee efficiency and effectiveness in its operations. 10. 0 the governments of the respective states are also expected to en