Banks’ non-performing loans drop to N1.17tn – NBS

Nigerian banks’ non-performing loans as of the third quarter of 2020 dropped to N1.17 trillion, latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics have shown.

According to figures obtained from the NBS’ latest Selected Banking Sector Data Report, the figure stood at N1.21 trillion as of the second quarter of 2020.

The new figure indicates a decline of N42.4 billion in three months.

Earlier, the CBN governor Godwin Emefiele had said the banking industry regulator was proactive in its anticipation of the possible consequences on people and companies’ inability to earn revenue and pay workers’ salaries, as such would make it difficult for debtors to pay back their bank loans.

He said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) provided funding support for banks for businesses and households impacted by the pandemic, and also directed the banks to restructure the loans the people were unable to service under fresh terms.

According to a review of the performance of the banking industry by the apex bank, non-performing loans dropped from 9.4 percent as of June 2019 to 6.1 percent in August 2020.

In the new NBS report, in terms of credit to the private sector, the total value of credit allocated by the bank stood at N19.87 trillion as of Q3 2020.

“Oil and gas and manufacturing sectors got credit allocation of N3.74tn and N3.03tn to record the highest credit allocation as at the period under review,” the statistics office said.

Lagos State accounted for the highest number of borrowers from banks while Yobe State was responsible for the least number.

“Lagos beneficiaries recorded the highest credit by geographical distribution with N15.13tn, accounting for 77.74 per cent of the total credit by geographical distribution, while Yobe State recorded the least with N19.38bn, accounting for 0.09 per cent in Q3 2020,” the NBS said.