The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, says the bank has disbursed a total of N800bn to the Small and Medium Enterprises in the country in the last seven years.
He said that the figure represented a significant improvement from what the bank used to disburse.
Olaoluwa spoke in Lagos at a symposium organised to mark the 50th birthday of the Chief Executive Officer, RTC Advisory Services Limited, Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje.
He said, “What we have seen in the case of the Bank of Industry is that we have a model that appears to be succeeding.
“For example, in our intervention in the Small and Medium Enterprises space, our cumulative disbursement of loans was less than N30bn up till 2009. But from 2009 till date, we are looking at about N800bn.”
He stressed that the BoI was strategising to ensure that it sustained the momentum in order to have an institution that would last.
“An institution that will survive its chief executive officer; that can ensure that when loans are granted, they are repaid; an institution that can ensure that technologies are adopted; that can ensure that the institutions are properly run in terms of governance, compliance and so on,” he added.
The CEO further noted that bad loans were part of the challenges responsible for the failure and eventual liquidation of past development banks.
Speaking on the status of Nigerian banks, the BoI boss said they had undergone “tremendous changes” in the last decade, beginning with the banking industry consolidation that led to the emergence of 20 strong banks in 2004.
Olaoluwa said, “Before then, domestic banks mustered the strength to finance anything close to mega transactions. But today, we find Nigerian banks facing transactions in their billions. That is a significant development. We used to rely on foreign banks to come and lead syndication in our domestic transactions. Now, we are able to do that. A lot of banks have really become very strong in terms of their institutional capacity building.”
Domestic banks, he said, had developed capacity and strength in risk management, adoption of technology, and general competence among staff members.
According to him, the development has led to improved service delivery across the board.
