Zenith Bank, Access, Others Send Loan Updates to Customers After CBN's Order
- Nigerian banks have stopped taking new loan applications from customers in line with CBN's instructions
- In a message sent by Access Bank to customers, it stated that customers are obliged to return current loans in full
- The bank stated that all existing CBN development finance intervention funds with approved interest rates will stay the same
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Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Nigerian deposit money institutions have stopped taking new loan applications under the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) development finance intervention funds.
Source: UGC
Access Bank notified clients of this change on Monday, January 8, 2024. Other Nigerian banks have also begun to inform their customers using various means.
No more CBN loans
This comes after the CBN formally announced in December 2023 that it would no longer accept new loan applications under its current development finance intervention funds program.
Among these are the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), the Real Sector Support Fund (RSSF), the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), and the Anchor Borrowers Program (ABP).
The notice sent by Access Bank stressed that all existing available CBN development finance intervention funds with approved interest rates will stay the same.
According to a BusinessDay report, in compliance with the specified terms and circumstances, customers must fully return these current loans.
The governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, had disclosed that the total amount disbursed by the top bank under its development financing intervention had increased to N10 trillion.
Nevertheless, information about the amount that has not yet been retrieved as of this writing was not given.
However, industry watchers estimate that there is still a significant N580 billion in outstanding unpaid loans, especially under the Anchor Borrower Program.
Concerns over the intervention programs' financial stability and its effects on the overall economy have been raised by the lack of clarity around these unrecovered monies.
After Tinubu's deadline, CBN recovers N264.04 billion from debtors, other intervention schemes
Legit.ng reported that the CBN said it had recovered N264.04 billion from borrowers under its development financing schemes in the first six months of 2023.
The bank disclosed this in its Half-Year Economic Report 2023, saying that the recovery was 27.4% higher than the N207.33 billion recovered in the same period in 2022.
The bank noted further that it reduced its lending pace in 2023 compared to the year before.
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Source: Legit.ng
