By Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

Tuesday, 1 Feb 2011

The Nigerian Export Import Bank on Monday said that it was setting aside N500m for lending to Nigerian exporters interested in deepening trade within the West African sub-region.

The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Robert Orya, who disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, also said that the amount would enable the bank to create about 25,862 jobs in the 2011 fiscal year.

The NEXIM boss explained that the non-oil sector held ample opportunities for growth and development, adding that the bank would not relent in encouraging credible importers and exporters, who shared the same vision with it.

He said that the transformation strategy of the new management had enabled it to turn around the fortunes of the bank within 18 months as it had returned to profitability.

He said that, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, the bank made a profit of N216.75m in 2010, as against a loss of N4.6bn recorded in the 2009 financial period.

Orya attributed the loss recorded in the 2009 financial period to the huge non- performing loan portfolio in the books of the bank.

It was learnt that as at August 20, 2009, when the new management assumed office, the bank’s total loan portfolio stood at N14.6bn, out of which 72 per cent was classified as non-performing.

Within that category; about N10.03bn or 69.09 per cent was classified as completely lost. There was also a depletion of the bank’s shareholders’ fund from N15.85bn to about N9.33bn as a result of accumulated losses.

However, the NEXIM boss said that the new board had corrected that anomaly and had returned it to profitability.

He added that the management’s new debt recovery strategy had enabled it to recover about N540m of the bank’s total non-performing loans.

Orya also explained that the current management of the bank was pursuing a vigorous policy of growing the manufacturing, solid mineral, services, tourism, transportation and other non-oil sectors to ensure robust growth of the economy.

This, he noted was consistent with the Federal Government’s objective of diversifying the economy on a sustainable basis.

He said, “We have set up a five-year strategy for the bank. We are focusing on agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals and services sectors. These are areas that have the potential to support the non-oil sector.

“In 2010, we gave out N10.7bn direct loans to importers, which was able to generate 3,500 jobs and foreign exchange that this can give the country is about $48.1m.”

“We want to deepen trade within the sub-region, and to achieve that, we have set aside N500m to lend to Nigerians, and this will help us create about 25,862 jobs this year,” he added.

Source: Punch