DBN increases loan disbursement by 89% | The Guardian Nigeria News

Development Bank of Nigeria Plc has seen an 89% increase in the volume of loans disbursed, from N101.5 billion in 2019 to N191.7 billion in 2020.
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This growth is in line with the company’s core purpose of facilitating sustainable socio-economic development by improving financial access for SMEs in Nigeria, according to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Office, Mr. Tony Okpanachi.

He said the bank recorded a 4% growth in total assets from N474.7 billion in 2019 to N493.5 billion in 2020, while outstanding loans increased by 110% from N101.9 billion in 2019 to a closing value of N214.0 billion in 2020. The income asset mix further tilted in favour of lending over investment as the bank continues to ramp up lending to small businesses in Nigeria, which are the engine of growth in the economy.

Loan income also increased significantly by 60% year-on-year from N6.6 billion in 2019 to N10.5 billion in 2020; return on assets and return on equity stood at 4% and 11% respectively for the year ended December 31, 2020. Various cost control strategies were deployed by the bank, resulting in a 12% reduction in operating expenses year-on-year.
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The bank’s profit remained strong at 34.6 billion naira despite the harsh global realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and other macroeconomic challenges faced during the year.

Presenting a scoreboard on the Bank’s activities and its contribution to the Nigerian economy, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, said the Bank through its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) has worked to facilitate increased lending to SMEs and thereby accelerated economic growth.

Mr Okpanachi expressed optimism about the bank’s ability to weather the impact of the global pandemic and other challenges.

“We appreciate the full cooperation of our board of directors, management, staff and other stakeholders as we were able to operate within strict health and safety guidelines while expanding our reach in our target market,” he said.
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“By bringing more participating financial institutions on board, we were able to deepen financial inclusion for more SMEs, whose businesses were negatively impacted by the pandemic, thereby revitalizing and creating the right environment for their continued growth,” he added, adding that “we will continue to focus on our core mandate of driving development impact.”

Development Bank of Nigeria Plc is a wholesale development finance institution established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in partnership with global development partners (The World Bank, AfDB, KfW, AFD and EIB) to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. DBN performs this function by providing financial institutions, mainly Deposit Money and Microfinance Banks, with on-lending facilities designed to meet the needs of this segment.
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