The volume of loans disbursed by the Development Bank of Nigeria Plc in 2020 witnessed a surge of about 89 percent, its recent annual financial report has revealed.
The report said the loans disbursement figures grew from N101.5billion in 2019 to N191.7billion in 2020.
Th e Bank said the growth was in line with its core mandate of facilitating sustainable socio-economic development by improving financial access for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
Also, the Bank said it recorded a growth of 4 percent in total assets, from N474.7billion in 2019 to N493.5 billion in 2020.
Besides, it said outstanding loans also increased by 110 percent from N101.9billion in 2019 to close at N214.0billion in 2020.
“The mix of earnings assets tilted further in favour of loans rather than investments as the Bank continues to ramp up lending to small businesses in Nigeria which are the engine of growth of the economy,” the report said.
“Income from loans also grew significantly by 60 percent year-on-year from N6.6billion in 2019 to N10.5billion in 2020; return on assets and return on equity stood at 4 percent and 11 percent respectively for the year ended December 31, 2020, while several cost containment strategies were deployed by the Bank resulting in a 12 percent decrease in operating expense year on year,” the report added.
Also, the report said the Bank’s earnings remained strong at N34.6billion 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 (PFIs) 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 as the Bank looks forward to the future.
“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”, the MD said.
DBN Plc is a wholesale development finance institution, established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with global development partners (The World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), KfW, AFD, and European Investment Bank (EIB) to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) 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.
