Development Bank’s loan portfolio hits N191.7bn

Development Bank of Nigeria Plc has witnessed a surge in the volume of loans disbursed by 89 per cent from N101.5bn in 2019 to N191.7bn in 2020.

This growth is in line with its core mandate of facilitating sustainable socio-economic development by improving financial access for MSMEs in Nigeria.

The Bank recorded a growth of four per cent in total assets, from N474.7bn in 2019 to N493.5bn in 2020, while outstanding loans increased by 110 per cent, from N101.9bn in 2019, to close at N214bn in 2020.

The mix of earnings assets tilted further in favour of loans rather than investments as the Bank continued to ramp up lending to small businesses in Nigeria.

Income from loans also grew significantly by 60 per cent, year-on-year, from N6.6bn in 2019 to N10.5bn in 2020; return on assets and return on equity stood at four per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Several cost containment strategies were deployed by the Bank, resulting in a 12 per cent decrease in operating expense, year on year.

The Bank said its earnings remained strong at N34.6bn in spite of the harsh global realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other macroeconomic challenges encountered during the year.

While giving a scorecard on the Bank’s activities and contribution to the Nigerian economy, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Tony Okpanachi, said the Bank worked through its Participating Financial Institutions to facilitate increased lending to MSMEs, thereby accelerating economic growth.

Okpanachi expressed optimism in the Bank’s capacity to weather the effects of the global pandemic and other challenges.

He said, “We appreciate the full cooperation of our board, management, staff, and other stakeholders as we were able to operate within strict health and safety guidelines while increasing our reach to our target market.

“By onboarding more Participating Financial Institutions, we were able to deepen financial inclusion for more MSMEs whose businesses were adversely affected by the pandemic, thereby injecting a new lease of life and providing the right environment for their sustained growth.

“We will continue to focus on our core mandate of driving developmental impact.”

Development Bank of Nigeria Plc is a wholesale development finance institution, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with global development partners to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria.

DBN carries out this function by providing financial institutions, predominantly Deposit Money and Microfinance Banks, with on-lending facilities designed to meet the needs of this segment.