BoI Increases SME Loans By 56%
The Bank of Industry said the total amount it disbursed to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises segment in the country in 2019 rose by 56.3 per cent to N53bn year-on-year from N33.9bn disbursed in 2018.
The Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr Aliyu Dikko, said this during the bank’s 60th annual general meeting which held virtually in line with COVID-19 protocols of the Federal Government, according to a statement issued by the bank.
The statement titled ‘Bank of Industry increases support to MSMEs by 56.3 per cent’ was made available to our correspondent.
During the year under review, he said, the BoI disbursed a total of N234bn to a total 10,145 enterprises, thereby facilitating the creation of an estimated one million direct and indirect jobs.
“I am also pleased to report that the group’s balance sheet remains strong while our business operations are in line with both regulatory requirements and global best practices,” Dikko stated while presenting the 2019 results.
According to him, the group grew its total equity by 13.5 per cent to N293.09bn for the year ended 2019 over 2018 position of N258.24bn.
However, he noted, the group’s total asset dropped slightly by 2.7 per cent to N1.04tn.
The group also recorded an increase of a profit before tax by 7.3 per cent to N39.34bn year-on-year over the N36.66bn recorded in 2018.
On loans and advances, the chairman said that despite a slow start in the first quarter of the year due to the build-up to the 2019 general elections, the group recorded a growth of 16.7 per cent from N634.11bn in 2018 to N740.03bn in 2019.
He disclosed that interest income and interest expense increased by 20 per cent and 54 per cent on a year-on-year basis respectively due to increase in loan book as well as the impact of borrowings.
Dikko said, “In the course of the year, we made significant progress towards improving the size of our loanable funds, leveraging our strategic partnerships in the international market and the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“The bank was able to raise €1bn through syndication by international banks for on-lending to SMEs to create jobs.”
The Managing Director of BoI, Mr Kayode Pitan, described the year under review, as a significant year for the bank.
