Adebayo Obajemu
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given notice that 17 banks have submitted requests to restructure over 32,000 loans for individuals and businesses impacted by Coronavirus pandemic.
This stands for 32.94 per cent of the total industry loan portfolio.
Disclosing this was deputy governor, CBN, Aishah Ahmad, in her Monetary Policy Committee notes shared via the Twitter handle of the apex bank.
According to her, “As at end-May 2020, staff reports indicate that 17 banks submitted requests to restructure over 32 thousand loans for individuals and businesses impacted by the pandemic, representing 32.94 per cent of the total industry loan portfolio, with the manufacturing and general commerce sectors constituting the bulk of the restructured facilities.”
She that the results from ongoing impact assessment of COVID-19 effects on impairment by banks indicate modest impact given regulatory policy measures already implemented, adding that these, coupled with close monitoring by authorities and enhanced risk management practices by financial institutions, would help to mitigate the emerging risks and preserve financial system .
“Credit to the oil and gas sector accounted for about 26% of the industry’s total loans and advances, making the sector the single most important in terms of credit exposure of the banking system,” Edward Adamu, another monetary policy committee member,” she stated.
