Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN), which recently released its 2020 financial report, witnessed a surge in the volume of loans disbursed by 89 per cent (N90.2 billion) from N101.5 billion in 2019 to N191.7 billion in 2020.
This growth is in line with the agency’s core mandate of facilitating sustainable socio-economic development by improving financial access for MSMEs in Nigeria.
The Bank recorded a growth of four per cent in total assets from N474.7bn in 2019 to N493.5bn in 2020, while outstanding loans increased by 110 per cent from N101.9bn in 2019 to close at N214bn in 2020.
The mix of earnings assets tilted further in favour of loans rather than investments as the Bank continues to ramp up lending to small businesses in Nigeria which are the engine of growth of the economy.
Income from loans also grew significantly by 60 per cent year-on-year from N6.6bn in 2019 to N10.5bn in 2020; return on assets and return on equity stood at four per cent and 11 per cent respectively for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Several cost containment strategies were deployed by the Bank resulting in a 12 per cent decrease in operating expense year on year.
The Bank said its earnings remained strong at N34.6bn in spite of the harsh global realities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other macroeconomic challenges encountered during the year.
While giving a scorecard on the Bank’s activities and contribution to the Nigerian economy, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tony Okpanachi said the Bank worked through its Participating Financial Institutions to facilitate increasedlending to MSMEs, thereby accelerating economic growth.
