The Nigerian Export-Import Bank has said it recovered N10.2bn and $3.25m debt from delinquent customers between January 2017 and February 2022, and that it has put up for sale assets of loan defaulters worth N7bn.
It noted that its strategic plan articulated towards improving operational performance was paying off with the growth in its balance sheet from N67.73bn in 2017 to N202.03bn in February 2022.
The lender posted a profit of N1.09bn in 2018; N2.13bn in 2019; N1.28bn in 2020 and N4.10bn in 2021, after a loss of N567m in 2017 and a bigger loss of N8.03bn in 2016.
It attributed the profit decline in 2020 to the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, which necessitated the interest rebate and moratorium extension the bank granted its customers.
These were contained in a financial report made available to Sunday PUNCH. The bank denied a report that it did not account for $10m and N1.36bn recovered from Heritage Bank, stressing that the monies were fully paid to the Central Bank of Nigeria and was not misappropriated as alleged.
The document pointed out that under Abba Bello as the Managing Director, the bank made all the facts known to the ‘House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots, Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002-2020 by agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for effective/efficient management and utilisation’ in its letter dated June 21, 2021, and in the engagements that followed.
The bank said it had in the past five years contributed to the objectives of the Federal Government under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and that it engaged significantly with stakeholders with improved relationship, manifesting in collaborative efforts towards policy intervention and increased focus on the non-oil export sector.
It added, “We also introduced aggressive debt recovery and proactive loan work out measures leading to an increase in overall recoveries from only N200m in December 2016 to N10.2bn and US$3.25m between January 2017 and February 2022. In addition, assets worth about N7bn are currently up for sale.”
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