DBN Notches 89% Loan Disbursement Surge

• Earnings remain strong at N34.6bn

BY COBHAM NSA – The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc is enthusiastic that amid the tough global realities its books still recorded over 89 per cent upsurge in the loans disbursement profile from N101.5 billion in 2019 to N191.7 billion in 2020.

This is as the Bank’s earnings also stayed strong at N34.6 billion notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic and other macro-economic challenges witnessed during the period under review.

So for the institution, this impressive growth is a huge boost in line with its core mandate of facilitating sustainable socio-economic development through improved financial access for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

According to its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tony Okpanachi, the Bank worked through its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to facilitate increased lending to MSMEs, thus accelerating economic growth in the country.

Unveiling the scorecard of DBN’s activities and contribution to Nigeria’s economy, Okpanachi said the financial institution recorded a four per cent (4%) growth in total assets from N474.7 billion in 2019 to N493.5 billion in 2020, while outstanding loans increased by 110 per cent from N101.9 billion in 2019 to close at N214.0 billion in 2020.

Also, 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 as the engine of growing the nation’s economy.

In addition, income from loans also grew significantly by 60 per cent year-on-year from N6.6 billion in 2019 to N10.5 billion in 2020, just as return on assets and return on equity stood at four per cent (4%) and 11 per cent respectively for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Mr Okpanachi, who expressed confidence in the Bank’s capacity to withstand effects of the global pandemic and other challenges, explained that several cost containment strategies were deployed by the Bank resulting in a 12 per cent decrease in operating expense year on year.

The DBN boss further said; “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 on-boarding 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”, he assured.

Established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in partnership with global development partners to address the major financing challenges facing MSMEs in Nigeria, DBN Plc is a wholesale development finance institution that delivers on its mandate by providing financial institutions, mostly Deposit Money and Microfinance Banks with on-lending facilities packaged to meet the sector’s needs.

On the list of Development partners are: The World Bank; African Development Bank (AfDB); KfW (formerly KfW Bankengruppe, a German state-owned development bank); AFD (French Development Agency); and EIB (European Investment Bank)