Lagos, 15 Aug-(ANA)-The Nigerian central bank has injected 400bn naira ($2.6bn; £1.6bn) into five banks and sacked their managers.
The regulator said the banks were undercapitalised and posed a risk to the entire banking system.
Governor Lamido Sanusi said Afribank, Finbank, Intercontinental Bank, Oceanic Bank and Union Bank would be run as normal until new investors were found.
The move was unprecedented in Nigeria, sending the naira down 2% to 156.9 versus the dollar.
"The banks have lost their money in bad loans," Mr Sanusi told reporters in Lagos. "We have questions about the management, so we have put in new management."
"We assure every depositor that no-one will lose money and we will continue to support the banks and all Nigerian banks," he said.
Armed police secured the buildings of the five banks to protect their assets.
Mr Sanusi took over as head of the central bank over two months ago, pledging to clean up the banking system that has fuelled growth in Nigeria.
Among the executives removed were senior members of Nigeria's corporate elite, long seen as almost untouchable by the political establishment. (ANA)
Amnesty/Report