…profits grow to N153bn
From Adanna Nnamani and Nmasi Okwor, Abuja
The Bank of Industry (BOI) on Wednesday, said that its various interventions aimed at boosting businesses in the country, have resulted in the creation of two million jobs in the last one year.
The Bank disclosed this at its 64th General Annual Meeting in Abuja, where it presented its financial report for the year 2023, declaring a profit of N153 billion.
The report showed a year of remarkable growth and achievement for the bank despite facing significant global and local economic challenges.
BOI said that in furtherance to its drive to boost job creation through its interventions, it significantly increased its disbursements to large, medium, small and micro enterprises, advancing credit amounting to N496.717 billion to 75,809 beneficiaries. These efforts it noted, have had a substantial socio-economic impact, creating approximately 2,198,953 direct and indirect jobs across the country.
Speaking at event, the Chairman of the Shareholders Committee, Mallam Muhammed Bala, also announced that the Bank’s total assets surged by an impressive 64.6%, escalating from N2.37 trillion to N3.91 trillion, which underscored the Bank’s commitment to enhancing its financial foundation and expanding its capacity to support Nigeria’s industrial sector
Mallam Bala also reported that this impacted on the Bank’s profits, as the Bank’s profit before tax increased by 117.69%, increasing from N70.7 billion to N153.81 billion, which is the highest in the Bank’s history. Also, the Bank’s loans and advances saw a substantial increase of 41.5%, rising to N1.14 trillion and N803.6 billion respectively, due to increased interventions and disbursements to enterprises, which reflects 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% from N427 billion to N678 billion, reinforcing the institution’s financial stability and capacity for future investments.
In 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”.