The Managing Director of Accion Microfinance Bank, Mrs Olubunmi Lawson, has advised the Federal Government to provide more conducive environment for banks to operate in 2016.
Lawson told newsmen in Lagos yesterday that microfinance banks needed more conducive environment in 2016 for better service delivery.
She said that the absence of basic facilities to support service delivery disrupted the banks’ performance in 2015.
Olubunmi also said that activities of Boko Haram insurgents disrupted activities of some banks in the North East in 2015.
The bank boss said that the required facilities included good roads, electricity and good internet connection.
She said that banks would have performed better in 2015 if the government had provided these facilities and supported the banks.
Olubunmi urged President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise the provision of infrastructure to enable banks and industries to improve their services to Nigerians.
She advised that the Federal Government should also ensure that banks had easier access to intervention funds to support their operations in 2016.
She said that the sub-sector recorded huge bad debts in 2015 because of the challenges it faced.
“A recent report from the sector depicted bad loans totaling N80 billion in the period under review.
“The bad loans were accumulated by the 940 banks operating in the sector involving over six million customers.
“To me, this depicted that lack of those facilities affected business of clients and loan repayments, among other factors’’ she said.