The Bank of Industry (BOI) payed out N234 billion to 10,145 micro, small and medium enterprises in 2019.
According to the result, the group’s total equity as at year ended 2019 stood at N293.09 billion reflecting a 13.4 per cent increase over the N258.24 billion it posted in 2018.
The increase in profitability is as a result of improvement in loan book, as well as the efficient management of the group’s other assets and liabilities.
During the year under review, at the bank’s 60th annual general meeting that held virtually the Bank of Industry disclosed that it had disbursed a total of N234 billion to 10,145 enterprises, thus facilitating the creating of an estimated 1 million direct and indirect jobs.
This was as its disbursement to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) segment increased from N33.9 billion in 2018 to N53.0 billion in 2019, representing a 56.3 per cent year-on-year growth.
It therefore consolidated its role as the managing partner of one of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), through which N8.2 billion was disbursed to beneficiaries in 2019, thus bringing the total amount disbursed to 2.3 million beneficiaries nationwide since inception to N36.9 billion.
While speaking on loans and advances Kayode Pitan , BOI managing director stated that the bank also worked with the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) to reduce interest rates on credit facilities approved under the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund from eight percent per anum to six percent per anum, including an extension of the moratorium period.
(C) Control TV 2020.