Increase in Banks’ Bad Loans Caused by Construction Sector

The banking industry saw a 13.6 percent MoM (month on month) increase in bad loans to N2.76 trillion in August 2021, and the Central Bank of Nigeria attributed the increase to the rising loan defaults in the country’s construction sector.

The construction industry is touted to be under intense pressure due to the rise in the prices of building materials.

The Central Bank of Nigeria said this in its August Economic Report, stating that the NPL (Non-Performing Loans) ratio of the banking industry went up to six percent in August, one percentage point more than the five percent regulatory limit.

According to data from the apex bank, the total credit to the domestic economy went up by 2.2 percent to reach N46 trillion in August, from the N44.99 trillion recorded in July. This suggests that the NPL (bad loans) went up to N2.76 trillion in August from N2.43 trillion seen in July, a N330 billion or 13.6 percent increase.

The big rise in NPLs was explained by the CBN as a result of increased loan defaults in the construction sector, which accounted for about 4.7 percent or N905 billion of credit owed to other sectors in August, going up from 4.6 percent of N879 billion back in July.

The apex bank said the increase in the construction sector’s non-performing loans was due to the increase in process of building materials, which made it more difficult for contractors to meet their debt obligations.

Regarding this development, the Managing Director of Built2Suit Limited – a firm of architects – Ibukun Odu, said that apart from the increase in loan defaults, construction firms may have to turn to layoffs in order to reduce overhead cost.

Odu lauded the correctness of the CBN report, stating that a lot of contractors were finding the period extremely difficult. Odu stated that all the main components have witnessed increases of between 75 – 90 percent. He mentioned cement, which used to be sold at N2500 but is now sold between N4000 and N4200.