Business
FBN Micro-Finance Bank Disburses N150m Loans
The FBN Microfinance Bank Ltd has so far disbursed N150million as loans to customers since inception in September 2008, its managing Director, Mrs. Pauline Nsa, has said.
Nsa declared in Lagos that the bank’s customers were engaged in various trade and profession.
“Our customers are not only artisans and petty traders, but we also have large food companies, farmers and those from the segments usually ignored by the big banks,” she said.
The FBN Microfinance Bank, according to Nsa, has six branches at Agega, Bariga, Ikotun, Broad Street, Matori and Ikorodu.
“Before the end of 2009, we plan to open six new branches at Oko Oba, Iyama Ipaja and Ajah”, she said.
Nsa said that the FBN Microfinance bank had a branch network target of 10,000 nation wide.
“When we opened our Agege branch, for instance, the whole place was crowded”, she recalled.
Nsa noted that Microfinance banks are set up to assist both the rural and urban poor with access to credit.
She said that such pockets of assistance were expected to improve the national economy through policies that would enhance poverty alleviation.
According to her, microfinance banks have been able to assist about 60 per cent of those adversely affected by the economic meltdown.
“With the global meltdown, many people have been displaced from their regular jobs.
“The microfinance banks have been able to assist in the re-integration of such individuals into the national economy through the promotion of small and medium-scale businesses”, she said.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.
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