The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that 17 banks submitted requests to restructure over 32,000 loans for individuals and businesses impacted by Coronavirus pandemic, representing 32.94 per cent of the total industry loan portfolio. This was disclosed by a deputy governor, Financial Systems Stability, CBN, Aishah Ahmad, in her Monetary Policy Committee notes shared via the Twitter handle of the apex bank.
She twitted, “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.” Ahmad explained that the results from on-going impact assessment of COVID-19 effects on impairment by banks indicated 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, will help to mitigate the emerging risks and preserve financial system stability
“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 added.
