Nine banks increase loans to customers by N952bn

Nine of the nation’s deposit money banks boosted their loan books in the first half of 2019 as credit to customers rose by at least N952 billion to N8.59 trillion.

An analysis of the audited financial statements of the 13 deposit money banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that seven of them had a loan-to-deposit ratio of over 60 percent as of June 2019.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, in a circular dated July 3, 2019, mandated all DMBs to maintain a minimum loan-to-deposit ratio of 60 percent by September 30, 2019 in a bid to improve lending to the real sector of the nation’s economy.

It said failure to meet the minimum LDR would result in a levy of additional cash reserve requirement equal to 50 percent of the lending shortfall of the target LDR.

FBN Holdings Plc expanded its loan book by N59.42bn in the first half of the year as loans and advances to customers rose to N1.74tn as of June 2019. With customer deposits of N3.58tn, the bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 48.6 percent.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc increased credit to customers by N13.85bn to N1.27 trillion as of June. With customer deposits of N2.42 billion, its LDR stood at 52.5 percent.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc’s lending increased by N22.36 billion to N455.08 billion. With customer deposits of N693.55bn, its LDR stood at 66.61 percent.

Fidelity Bank Plc grew its loan book by N149.43 billion to N999.32 billion as of June, while its customer deposits rose at N1.09 trillion from N979.42 billion in December 2018. Its LDR stood at 91.68 percent.

Sterling Bank Plc’s loans and advances rose by N702m to N621.72bn. With customer deposits of N818.6bn, it recorded an LDR of 75.94 percent.