Nigerian banks will comply with the new lending policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stimulate the country's economic growth.
Herbert Wigwe, the CEO of Access Bank, stated this in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg News, monitored by Business Insider SSA over the weekend.
According to Wigwe, the lending cap introduced by the apex bank will help commercial banks in the country to stimulate lending to the real sector in Nigeria.
“This is to encourage us to lend to the real sector and grow the economy.”
“People will have to comply and this will help our financial discipline and help small and medium scale enterprise SMEs to grow in Nigeria. It can only make banks focus on it even more and faster and helps to stimulate growth,” Wigwe told Bloomberg News.
Abimbola Omotola, Fixed Income and Currency specialist at Ecobank Research, had also told Business Insider SSA that most large banks actually have more loan to deposit ratio higher than this particular requirement and only a few tier ones banks will be affected by the new policy..
Muda Yusuf, Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) also believed the lending policy of the CBN will normalise the credit markets and spur economic growth.
In a circular issued last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) set the minimum loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) for banks at 60%.
The new measure, the apex bank said it will help to grow the Nigerian economy through investment in the real sector.
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke
