Davide Rasconi,
Editorial Manager, OBG; Diana Rus, Country Director, OBG; Abubakar Jimoh,
MD/CEO, Coronation Merchant Bank; Onayimi Aiwerioghene, Head, Enterprise
Management
|
The growing role earmarked
for Nigeria’s banks in boosting private sector credit will be explored in a report out
soon by the global research and consultancy firm Oxford
Business Group (OBG). The Report: Nigeria 2017 will look in detail at the drive to
encourage banks to increase lending for the country’s small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs), which make up 96% of the country’s businesses and account
for about 50% of GDP.
OBG’s report will also consider the impact on
Nigeria’s lenders of the current challenging macroeconomic
conditions,
in particular, the falling naira and a shift in the government’s
fiscal policy. The central bank’s decision to sharpen its focus on risk
management and what it means for financial institutions is also analysed.
Coronation Merchant Bank has signed a first-time
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
OBG for its forthcoming publication. Under
the two-year MoU, the firm will team up with OBG to analyse the latest developments
in investment banking for The Report:
Nigeria 2017.
OBG and
Coronation Merchant Bank will produce a shared analysis titled ‘Harnessing the power of FINTECH in the
development of Nigeria Capital Market’. The analysis will be part of the The
Report: Nigeria 2017 and will focus on the ever growing importance of FINTECH
in the country.
Abubakar Jimoh, CEO,
Coronation Merchant Bank, said he was delighted to be working with OBG’s team on
its forthcoming analysis of Nigeria’s economy, which, he noted, came at a time
when new trends in lending patterns were emerging across the industry.
“A national move to
facilitate lending to smaller-scale businesses is gaining ground, in line with broader
efforts to support the many entrepreneurs who have found credit hard to come
by,” he said. “With a fast paced, results driven, innovative organisation and the
financial technology segment keen to play a part in credit expansion, there
will be much of interest to explore in this exciting new collaboration with
Oxford Business Group’s team.”
Diana Rus,
OBG’s country director, said she was thrilled to have Coronation Merchant Bank
on board for the group’s 2017 project, which, she said, would look at both the
opportunities emerging in Nigeria’s banking sector and the hurdles that lenders
face.
“While Nigeria benefits from a well established banking sector, low oil prices,
tight capital controls and currency fluctuations have weighed heavily on lenders and continue to influence their
decisions, with lending growth flat in 2016,” she said. “Coronation
Merchant Bank’s input will give us added insight as we explore the balancing
act that the industry faces in supporting SME growth while managing loan performance.
I’m thrilled that we
will benefit from its team’s contribution on this and other important issues.”
The Report: Nigeria 2017 will be a vital guide to
the many facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure,
banking and other sectoral developments. The publication will also contain
contributions from leading representatives, including Audu Ogbeh, the minister
of agriculture, and Okechukwu E. Enelamah, the minister of industry. The report will be available in print and
online.
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