By Joel Okwara
The Bank of Industry (BOI) has shown remarkable growth in its financial performance, despite the local and economic challenges, by generating two million jobs, with the bank’s profit hitting N153bn
At the 64th Annual General Meeting in Abuja, the chairman of the shareholders’ committee, Mallam Muhammed Bala, announced that the bank’s total assets had surged by an impressive 64.6%, increasing from N2.37tn to N3.91tn.
This underscores the bank’s commitment to strengthening its financial foundation and expanding its capacity to support Nigeria’s industrial sector, The Nation reports.
Bala said: “In furtherance to its drive to boost job creation through its interventions, the BOI significantly increased its disbursements to large, medium, small, and micro enterprises, advancing credit amounting to N496.717bn to 75,809 beneficiaries. These efforts have had a substantial socio-economic impact, creating approximately 2,198,953 direct and indirect jobs across the country.
“This impacted on the Bank’s profits, as the Bank’s profit before tax (PBT) increased by 117.69%, from N70.7bn to N153.81bn, which is the highest in the Bank’s history.
Also, the Bank’s loans and advances saw a substantial increase of 41.5%, rising to N1.14tn and N803.6bn, respectively, due to increased interventions and disbursements to enterprises, which reflects the Bank’s ongoing efforts to provide essential financial support to businesses across various sectors.
“The Bank’s total equity experienced a significant boost, growing by 57.7% from N427bn to N678bn, reinforcing the institution’s financial stability and capacity for future investments.
In the Bank’s outlook for the coming year, the Chairman stated that subsequent to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, and in tandem with the National Development Plan (2021-2025), the Bank of Industry will continue to implement its medium-term corporate strategy for 2022-2024, on effectively sustaining the trajectory of supporting Nigeria’s industrial growth.”
The Managing Director, Olasupo Olusi, stated that the Bank has supported various intervention programmes, including the Smallholder Farmer Financing Product, MSME Distributor Finance Programme, Fintech/Digital Lending Product, Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES), and the Business Resilience Assistance for Value-Adding Enterprise (BRAVE).
The initiatives have not only contributed to the goals of economic recovery and job creation, but have also empowered Nigerian enterprises, especially micro and small ones, to sustainably remain in operation.
The Bank of Industry’s continued focus on strategic lending and investment in critical sectors has been instrumental in achieving these outstanding results; and as it looks to the future, the Bank remains dedicated to leveraging its financial strength to support the industrialisation and economic transformation of Nigeria.
The Bank of Industry (BOI) is Nigeria’s oldest, largest, and most successful development financing institution. It provides financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium, and small projects as well as the expansion, diversification, and modernisation of existing enterprises.
The Bank’s mission is to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing financial and business support services.