In furtherance to its drive to boost job creation through its interventions, the Bank of Industry has significantly increased its disbursements to large, medium, small and micro enterprises, advancing credit of N496.717bn to 75,809 beneficiaries.
The bank said the disbursement have had a substantial socio-economic impact, creating approximately 2,198,953 direct and indirect jobs across the country.
This is just as the bank continued its impressive financial performance in the 2023 financial period as its profit before tax rose by 117.69 per cent, increasing from N70.7bn to N153.81bn, which is the highest in the bank’s history.
Speaking at the 64th Annual General Meeting which held in Abuja, the Chairman of the Shareholders Committee, Mallam Muhammed Bala, also announced that the bank’s total assets surged by an impressive 64.6 per cent, escalating from N2.37tn to N3.91tn, which underscored the Bank’s commitment to enhancing its financial foundation and expanding its capacity to support Nigeria’s industrial sector
Bala also said the bank’s loans and advances saw a substantial increase of 41.5 per cent, rising to N1.14tn and N803.6bn respectively, due to increased interventions and disbursements to enterprises.
This, he noted, reflect the bank’s ongoing efforts to provide essential financial support to businesses across various sectors.
The bank’s total equity experienced a significant boost, growing by 57.7 per cent from N427bn to N678bn, reinforcing the institution’s financial stability and capacity for future investments.
On the bank’s outlook for the coming year, the Chairman stated that “Subsequent to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and in tandem with the National Development Plan (2021-2025), the Bank of Industry will continue to implement its medium-term corporate strategy for 2022-2024, on effectively sustaining the trajectory of supporting Nigeria’s industrial growth.”
In his remarks, the Managing Director, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, noted that through the Bank’s disbursement lines and managed intervention programmes, including the Smallholder Farmer Financing Product, MSME Distributor Finance Programme, Fintech/Digital Lending Product, Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), the Business Resilience Assistance for Value-Adding Enterprise (BRAVE) amongst others, the bank has not only contributed to President Tinubu’s “goals of economic recovery and job creation, but also have empowered Nigerian enterprises, especially the micro and small ones, to remain in operation sustainably.”
He said the bank continued focus on strategic lending and investment in critical sectors has been instrumental in achieving these outstanding results.
He explained that as the bank looks to the future, it remains dedicated to leveraging its financial strength to support the industrialization and economic transformation of Nigeria.