By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria’s indigenous lender, Wema Bank of Nigeria Plc on Saturday said it has attracted over $150 million in lines of credit for foreign trade and structured finance from various institutions, according to Segun Oloketuyi, managing director (MD) of the bank.
Oloketuyi said this at a forum in Lagos on Trade and Structured Finance for stakeholders organised by Wema Bank reaffirming the lenders commitment to supporting international trade.
The forum tagged ‘’‘Supporting Businesses Through Renewed Trade Focus’’ sought to bring together regulators, various stakeholders and regulators in the international trade business in Nigeria.
‘’In recent times, Wema Bank has attracted over $100 million in lines of credit for foreign trade and another $50 million in structured finance lines from various institutions,’’ the CEO of Wema Bank said.
Oloketuyi affirmed the trade forum was part of efforts at sensitising stakeholders on developments within the sector as well as bringing various parties – stakeholders and regulators together to discuss issues, challenges and chart a way forward for future development and policy formulation.
According to him, as part of the ongoing positive transformation at Wema Bank, the indigenous lender was well poised to support businesses in the areas of trade and structured finance.
On his part, Aber T. Benjamin, the deputy comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Services spoke on the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) scheme, which was introduced by the Customs in 2013 to fast-track the clearance of cargo and reduce costs at the nation’s ports.
Benjamin also introduced the new web-based trade portal of the Nigeria Customs Services to handle a customer’s end-to-end trade needs.
Onyinye Ahuchogu, deputy director, trade & exchange department at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) commended Wema Bank for the strides it has made in the past four (4) years.
Ahuchogu also spoke on the CBN’s partnership with other relevant institutions in making the international trade process simple and effective in Nigeria. ‘’One of the initiatives that came into being as a result of this partnership is the electronic form M,’’ she said.
In recent times, Wema Bank has invested significantly in IT infrastructure to boost service delivery to its customers and provide excellent, value-adding services. It was also disclosed at the forum that the bank has recently completed a web-based portal to enable its customers conduct their international trade transactions from the comfort of their offices with minimal interactions with the branches.
