20091217

LAGOS/ACCRA (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank said on Thursday it had received interest from several potential bidders for stakes in some of the 10 banks it is seeking to recapitalise following a $4 billion bailout earlier this year.

Banking sources said the central bank's advisers had set a Thursday deadline for potential bidders to register expressions of interest, a move to test the appetite for acquisitions as the regulator seeks to reshape Nigeria's banking landscape.

"We've received some interesting bids for some of the banks and the process is ongoing. It's a business transaction and we have to allow it to complete," Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi told Reuters during a trip to neighbouring Ghana.

He declined to comment further or give any details on which banks had expressed interest.

Nigeria's 24 banks have been positioning themselves for a second round of consolidation since an industry audit, which led to the bailout, exposed the strengths and weaknesses of rivals.

Stricter accounting rules, including the introduction of a harmonised calendar year-end and a requirement to detail full provisioning for loan losses, have further laid bare balance sheet realities long hidden by opaque disclosure levels.

The central bank has said the rescued banks -- Afribank, Finbank, Intercontinental Bank, Oceanic Bank, Union Bank, Bank PHB, Equitorial Trust Bank, Spring Bank and Wema Bank -- will be run as going concerns until new investors can be found to recapitalise them.

Unity Bank was also judged by auditors to have insufficient capital and was given until the end of June to raise fresh funds. It was not given an emergency capital injection because it had a healthy liquidity position.