- CBN Approves Operating License for Development Bank of Nigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the application for the issuance of an operational license for the take-off of the Development Bank of Nigeria.
The approval of the application, which was made by the Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Federal Government, was conveyed in a letter dated March 28, 2017 and addressed to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the DBN.
The letter was signed by the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability,CBN, Dr Okwu Nnanna and its subject to meeting the minimum capital requirement of N100bn as well as the reconstitution of the board of the bank and reviewing its organogram.
This was confirmed by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun on Wednesday through a statement issued by the ministry.
The DBN, was conceived in 2014 but its take off was fraught with delays by the previous administration.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had inherited the project with a determination to resolve all outstanding issues and set a target of 2017 for its take-off.
The DBN would have access to $1.3bn (N396.5bn) which has been jointly provided by the World Bank, German Development Bank), the African Development Bank and the French Development Agency.
The finance ministry had in a statement said that the DBN was finalising agreements with the European Investment Bank and that its operations would not in any way, result in the elimination of the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture or any other existing development bank.
“The operations of the DBN is clearly distinct from other development banks as it is focused on supporting small businesses defined by size and not by sectors.
The DBN, will provide loans to all sectors of the economy including, manufacturing, services and other industries not currently served by existing development banks thereby filling an important gap in the provision of finance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
