BoI Disburses N259bn to Businesses

• BoI Disburses N259bn to Businesses

Between January and December 2018, a total of N259.6bn was disbursed by the Bank of Industry to support the industrialisation policy of the Federal Government.

The amount disbursed in 2018 represents an increase of N147.1bn or 130 per cent when compared to the N112.5bn credit which the bank provided to businesses in the 2017 financial period.

The Chairman, BoI, Aliyu Dikko, who confirmed the amount on the sidelines of the bank’s 59th Annual General Meeting, said that out of the N259.6bn, about N33.9bn was disbursed specifically to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

He said the balance of N225.7bn was deployed to support large enterprises.

Speaking on the financial performance, he said that during the period, the group’s total asset grew by 49 per cent from N713.3bn in 2017 to 1.07tn in 2018.

In the same vein, Dikko explained that the bank achieved improvement in its total equity as it increased by 12.5 per cent from N241bn in 2017 to N258.3bn in 2018.

He put the bank’s profit before tax at N36.7bn, indicating a 39 per cent increase from the N26.4bn recorded in the previous year.

Dikko said the management of the bank made a proposal of N2bn dividend to be paid to the shareholders.

The amount was unanimously approved by shareholders of the bank.

He said, “The bank’s developmental impact profile and financial performance are fundamental indicators of our success.

“As we celebrate 60 years of our existence in 2019 and move ahead into the future, we will continue to streamline our efforts to ensure that these outcomes continuously align with our core values and the expectations of our stakeholders.”

The BoI Managing Director, Mr Olukayode Pitan, said the bank would continue its intervention programme in the various sectors of the economy.

In partnership with the Federal Government with respect to its Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, a component of the Social Investment Programme, he said the bank facilitated the disbursement of N29bn to 1.55 million beneficiaries nationwide through its flagship products such as TraderMoni and MarketMoni.

The products, he noted, were specifically aimed at providing soft loans at no interest rate to small entrepreneurs.

He said the bank was working with the Federal Government in the implementation of the N-Power programme, which is also part of the Social Intervention Programme.

He said under the programme, soft loans worth 15.34bn were provided to 199,989 beneficiaries to purchase work-tools in sectors such as agriculture, health and education.