Business
Debt Management: NNPC Struggles, Borrows To Pay $1.5b Foreign Debt
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has borrowed money to cover up its debts at the international Market.
This information was disclosed to newsmen by a Senior Banking source within the banking industry.
The loan became very vital to ease the burden on the NNPC that faced debt of several millions of dollars. The deal it was disclosed was struck towards the closing of last year.
Reports gathered indicate that NNPC got the loan from some Nigerians and international banks while the deal was brokered by Standard Chartered Bank. The scheduled time for the repayment of the debt is five and a half years, adding that NNPC has to offer up to 15,000 of its daily oil production as collateral.
Standard Chartered Bank however, refused to comment on the development.
A senior staff with the NNPC confirmed the transaction, saying it is true but it has not been finalised yet.
The source also said the deal was still on and the lawyers standing in for NNPC and the other banks were working on the papers to ensure a good deal. Although the source denied any knowledge of the 150,000 barrels of crude offered as collateral.
He confirmed reports that the loan was meant for the repayment of debts owned international business colleagues. Stressing on the need for the loan, the source said the loan will help mutual trust and facilitate business transactions between NNPC and its foreign partners. Adding, he said if the NNPC fails to pay such debts, it will be bad on its image in the business world.
NNPC has in recent time been the major importer of fuel used in the country following the refusal of oil marketers to import the product because of subsidy feud between them and the government.
The oil marketers during the end of last year claimed that the federal government owed them about N200b of subsidy claims.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
