DBN releases N631bn to MSMEs

Loans totaling over 631 billion naira have been distributed to Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Businesses (MSMEs) all over Nigeria by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

At the bank’s Annual General Meeting in Abuja, the Managing Director, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, revealed this information that was included in the bank’s financial report for the year 2022.

According to him, the record of loans disbursed as of the end of the Financial Year on December 31, 2022, represented a significant increase of 31 percent from the N482 billion that was distributed in the year before.
His words were as follows: “In the five years that DBN has been in operation, the bank has been at the forefront of development, playing a focal and catalytic role in alleviating financing constraints for Nigeria’s underserved MSMEs.”

“By the end of December 2022, the DBN had distributed more than N531 billion to slightly more than 313,000 MSMEs across the country. This represents an increase from the previous year’s total of N482 billion, which was distributed to more than 208,000 MSMEs.

“This implies a growth of 31 percent in financing support and a growth of 50 percent in the number of MSMEs impacted.”

In spite of the challenging circumstances in both the immediate community and the wider world, Dr. Okpanachi praised the team’s outstanding performance during the previous year.

Earnings for the bank totaled N47.6 billion by the end of the Financial Year 2022, with a PBT of N29.5 billion, and a cost to income ratio of 15.9 percent. These figures were all achieved prior to the payment of taxes.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 13. 5 percent of the total loan portfolio by sector, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing (5.7 percent), and oil and gas (4.9 percent). Trade and commerce accounted for 52. 8 percent of the total loan portfolio by sector.