The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) credit to banks rose by 10.8 per cent from N1.099 trillion at end of December 2018 to N1.227trn in 2019, a report has shown.
The 2019 Annual Report for the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) showed that the total loans and advances by banks increased by 13.42% to reach N16trn in 2019 from N14.1trn in 2018.
The NFIS was launched on October 23, 2012 to reduce the percentage of adult Nigerians who do not have access to financial services from 46.3%in 2010 to 20% in 2020.
The report said the increase in the volume of loans was supported by the increased loan-to-deposit ratio policy of CBN during the year.
This development also supported inclusion efforts of the Bank.
However, the report also indicated that Nigeria’s net foreign assets decreased substantially from N216.4 billion in 2018 to a deficit of N1.064trn in 2019.
On payments, the report indicated rising electronics payment which also shows that the financial inclusion rate is improving.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele in a foreward expressed hope that the 20% financial inclusion target will be met this year.
“Since inception, we have seen significant progress towards the reduction in the financial exclusion rates in Nigeria.
“Our periodic measurement of the financial inclusion rate currently puts Nigeria’s performance at 63.2%, leaving us with a 16.8% gap in projected achievement.
“Our headline target is to achieve 80% financial inclusion rate by the end of 2020,” he said.
A cursory look at the report showed that the volume and value of electronic payments in 2019 rose by 46.7 and 25.5% to 3 million and N167.bn, respectively, compared with 2.1m and N133.5bn in 2018.
