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 N952bn to N8.59tn.
An analysis of the audited financial statements of the 13 DMBs listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that seven of them had a loan-to-deposit ratio of over 60 per cent 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 per cent 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 per cent 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 per cent.
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc increased credit to customers by N13.85bn to N1.27tn as of June. With customer deposits of N2.42bn, its LDR stood at 52.5 per cent.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc’s lending increased by N22.36bn to N455.08bn. With customer deposits of N693.55bn, its LDR stood at 66.61 per cent.
Fidelity Bank Plc grew its loan book by N149.43bn to N999.32bn as of June, while its customer deposits rose at N1.09tn from N979.42bn in December 2018. Its LDR stood at 91.68 per cent.
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 per cent.
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc saw its loan book expand by N43.3bn to N563bn as of June. With customer deposits of N889.5bn, its LDR stood at 63.29 per cent.
Unity Bank Plc increased its loans and advances to customers by N26.96bn to N70.62bn while its customer deposits rose slightly by 0.1 per cent to N242.22bn. Its LDR stood at 29.16 per cent as of June.
Wema Bank Plc’s credit to customers rose by N28.77bn to N280.96bn. With customer deposits of N446.09bn, its LDR stood at 62.98 per cent.
Access Bank Plc has said it would submit its half-year audited financial statements on or before September 15. The lender explained that due to the recently concluded merger with the defunct Diamond Bank Plc and consequent business integration, the half-year audit of the enlarged institution had taken more time to complete than usual.
Before its merger with Diamond Bank, the lender expanded its loan book by N607bn in the first three months of the year to N2.6tn. With customer deposits of N3.92tn, It recorded an LDR of 66.33 per cent as of March. Diamond Bank had an LDR of 54.4 per cent as its customer deposits and loans to customers stood at N1.04tn and N567.9bn respectively.
Zenith Bank Plc reduced its loan book by N21.28bn to N1.80tn, while deposits from customers grew to N3.81tn in June from N3.69tn in December 2018. Its LDR stood at 47.24 per cent.
United Bank for Africa Plc also cut its lending to customers by N27.78bn to N1.69tn as of June. With customer deposits of N3.51tn, its LDR stood at 48.15 per cent.
FCMB Group Plc’s loans and advances dropped to N617.91bn in June 2019 from N633.03bn in December 2018. It recorded an LDR of 75.08 per cent as it had N822.99bn deposits at the end of the first half of 2019.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of Ecobank Nigeria, reduced its loans and advances by N188bn to N3.15tn. With customer deposits of N5.83tn, its LDR stood at 54.03 per cent.
