The outstanding loans disbursed by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc in 2020 increased by 110 percent from N101.9 billion in 2019 to close at N214 billion.
The bank in its financial report added that it disbursed N191.7 billion to Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in 2020.
This figure represents a 89 per cent increase as against N101.5billion disbursed by the bank in 2019.
The DBN noted that this growth was in line with its core mandate of facilitating sustainable socio-economic development by improving financial access for MSMEs in Nigeria.
The bank recorded a growth of four percent in total assets from N474.7billion in 2019 to N493.5billion last year.
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Income from loans also grew significantly by 60 per cent from N6.6billion in 2019 to N10.5bn in 2020; return on assets and return on equity stood at four percent and 11 percent respectively for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Several cost containment strategies were deployed by the bank, resulting in a 12 percent decrease in operating expense year on year.
The bank’s earnings remained strong at N34.6billion in spite of the harsh global realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other macroeconomic challenges encountered during the year.
In his remarks, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr Tony Okpanachi, said DBN worked through its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to facilitate increased lending to MSMEs, thereby accelerating economic growth.
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