The Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank yesterday said the total sum of 440 million Naira has so far been recovered from its non-performing loans portfolio in the last one year just as the Bank insists that its foreign exchange generating potential is about 148 million US dollars.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bank, Mr Roberts Orya also said the hitherto tottering financial institution has return to profitable operations following the intensive revenue drive embarked upon by the bank on the resumption of office by the new management in 2009.
Speaking at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Forum in Abuja, Mr Orya said from the 4.6 billion Naira loss in 2009, the bank has repositioned itself with a profit of 206.75 million Naira which was still subject to the Board’s approval.
He said given its professional and highly motivated staff strength, the bank was already eyeing a massive profit margin of 2.1 billion Naira this year, adding that the management’s vision was to package the institution as the leading export development bank in Africa by year 2015.
The Managing Director explained that going by its projections, the bank would be providing jobs to about 25,512 persons this year even as the sum of 500 million Naira has set aside as an incentive for exporters who intend to export goods to the sub-region.
Mr Orya said NEXIM bank was ready to encourage investments in the Agriculture, Solid minerals, manufacturing and services sectors such as transportation, tourism and entertainment in line with government’s diversification vision from oil dependency.
According to him, the bank has so far supported exporters with direct loan facilities to the tune of 10.7 billion Naira and in the process generated and sustained about 3,500 jobs across the country, maintaining that it has also guaranteed three projects for the sum 33.2 billion US dollars with their combined capacity to generate about 300 direct jobs in the polity.
He said going forward; NEXIM was already working with other stakeholders to remove trade barriers in the West Africa sub-region as part of efforts to address the obvious constraints in moving goods from one country of the ECOWAS sub-region to another.
Mr Orya said under the ECOWAS Support Trade Facility (ESTF), NEXIM, with a seed fund of 500 million Naira, was considering Public- Private sectors’ partnership to tackle the existing challenge of non-availability of cargo vessels to move goods from one country to another within the sub-region.
The NEXIM Chief Executive said the present situation where goods from the sub-region were transported by foreign vessels that first go to their countries of origin before returning to dispatch transported goods in countries within the sub-region causing undue delay and compromises the overall economic growth and development of the region
Established in 1992 by Act 38 to promote non-oil export with a view to diversifying from the crude oil-based revenue, the NEXIM bank also provides financial advisory services and trade market information.
