Six Nigerian banks have pumped ₦1.337 trillion through loans and advances to their customers across all sectors of the economy between January and September 2020.
The banks that grated the loans are Access Bank, FBN Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc over a month period spanning January to September 2020.
An analysis by BizWatchNigeria reveals that Zenith Bank Plc was the highest lender during the period under review with a loan disbursement of N405 billion. It was followed by UBA with N281 billion as the pan-African bank increased its loans from N2.169 trillion to N2.450 trillion while FBN Holdings Plc lent N262 billion to close the nine months with N2.869 trillion up from N2.607 trillion.
READ ALSO: Reps Reject Call for Buhari’s Impeachment
The third was Access Bank Plc, the bank advanced N175 billion to its customers to increase its loans to N3.087 trillion as at September 2020, compared with N2.912 trillion as at the end of 2019. Fidelity Bank Plc raised its loans by N146 billion to N1.272 trillion from N1.126 trillion, while GTBank Plc accounted for N68 billion, increasing its loans to N1.569 trillion, compared with N1.501 trillion.
Analysts stated that besides the drive of some banks to expand lending, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s decision to increase banks’ lending-to-deposit ratio (LDR) to 60 percent and later to 65 percent with a deadline of December 2019 had contributed to the growth in loans and advances.
