Under its current management, led by the managing
director/CEO, Mr Kayode Pitan, the bank concluded six key capital-raising
transactions from the international financial markets between 2017 and now,
thereby, increasing the bank’s financial muscle to lend to MSMEs, even as the
benefiting firms have used the BOI loans to expand their businesses, create
jobs, wealth and poverty reduction.
The bank disclosed that, the first of the transactions was a
$750million syndication concluded in 2017 with the support of Afreximbank and a
team international FIs (now fully paid off).
The second and third were the Euro 1billion syndication
closed in March 2020 and another $1billion syndication that closed in December
2020 (to be fully paid off by December 2023).
The bank’s maiden Eurobond of €750 million, concluded in
February 2022 was the 4th transaction. This transaction marked the first of its
kind in several ways to the bank, Nigeria and Africa as this deal was the
bank’s first Eurobond transaction and the first Euro-denominated Eurobond
transaction in Nigeria.
The transaction was also the first Eurobond transaction
covered by Nigeria’s sovereign guarantee, hence, represents a benchmark for
other prospective issuers from the African continent, even as it earned the
bank, the Agency Bond Deal of the Year award at the 2023 Awards event of the
Bonds, Loans and ESG Capital Markets in Capetown, South Africa.
The 5th capital raising transaction was the €1billion
guaranteed senior loan facility concluded in August of 2022, a deal that
represents the first of its kind, by any Nigerian financial institution, both
in terms of its size and structure. Through this transaction, the bank raised
liquidity at affordable rates and diversified its funding sources by attracting
new lenders at a time when the international capital markets were prohibitively
expensive and shut to many borrowers.
A €100 million line of credit from the French Development
Agency (AFD) was also concluded in August 2022 representing the 6th capital
raising. Through this credit facility, the bank can expand its financing
interventions in environmentally friendly and green projects while a grant of
€2.5 million was also included in this deal to support capacity building for
both staff and customers.
On developmental impact, BOI said, it disbursed N210.7
billion to 418,436 beneficiaries in 2022
through its direct and indirect lending platforms and through funds that
it manages on behalf of its strategic partners, adding that,
it’s intervention programmes, which traversed several
sectors and segments of the Nigerian economy, did not only contribute
significantly to its national goals of economic recovery and millions of job
creation but also empowered Nigerian businesses, especially micro, small and
medium enterprises, to remain in operations sustainably.
BOI equally disclosed that it has disbursed over N418
billion to 41,654 beneficiaries in Food and Agro Processing, and about 88,700mt
of rice and maize was produced.
From 2016, the bank said, the leadership of Kayode Pitan has
demonstrated commitment and innovativeness that have improved the bank’s
fortunes, noting that, the bank’s total assets have grown by an impressive 248%
between 2016 and 2022, reaching N1.71trillion by the end of 2021 and closing at
N2.38trillion as of December 2022.
“BOI has also grown its equity position by 95 per cent since
2016 – from N220billion to N430billion ($935mn) in December 2022, exceeding the
regulatory requirement of N10bn ($ 26mn) for retail Development Finance
Institutions(DFIs).
“Profit before tax (PBT) jumped by 325 per cent between 2016
and 2022, from N17billion to N72billion. The bank has contributed to the
national budget by paying dividends of approximately N28.9billion and taxes
amounting to N30.4billion. Generally, the bank typically distributes 15% of its
net income as dividends. With over 85 per cent of loans backed by a guarantee
and with aggressive recovery efforts, the Bank has historically been able to
maintain a non-performing loan (NPL) rate below the regulatory threshold of
five per cent,” the bank pointed out.
Similarly, its Gross earnings grew by 15.4 per cent to
N212.96 billion in 2022 from N184.55 billion in 2021. In the same vein,
interest income improved by 21.1 per cent in 2022 to N212.96 billion from
N175.83 billion in the previous year as Revenue from both customer loans and
investments was responsible for this growth.
Profit before tax improved by 15.6 per cent to N71.99
billion in the year from N62.28 billion in 2021, with a remarkable growth in
interest income and other income lines, alongside the reduction in impairment
charges, facilitating this appreciable growth.
Total equity grew by 11.7 per cent to N429.83 billion from
N384.85 billion in 2021, while loans and advances improved by 3.2 per cent to
N805.46 billion from N780.48 billion in 2021.
Reacting to this, its managing director/CEO, Mr Kayode
Pitan, attributed these and other achievements to the collective efforts of the
Board, management and staff, his predecessors, its partner banks that provide
credit enhancements and the unflinching support of its owners (the Federal
Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria), the Federal
Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and its supervising ministry,
the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment with whom it has a
harmonious relationship.
Stating that the high hopes of the bank to build on its
previous achievements and its resilience were tested in a global economic storm
with strong headwinds, as the national economy shrank by 1.8%, in 2020, its
most profound decline since 1983, he added that, the COVID-19 crisis drove the
economic slowdown; capital outflows marked the external context, intensified
risk aversion, low oil prices, and shrinking foreign remittances.
With economic activities grounded by COVID-19 and many
businesses struggling for survival, he said, the Bank of Industry, as a
development financial institution catering to thousands of MSMEs as well as
large enterprises, came under additional pressure because it also had to
support its numerous customers to survive.
But the story of 2022 told by the bank’s financial results
and other achievements showed a remarkable successes of its Board and
management that also emphasised its resilience, he pointed out.
On infrastructure development, he said, the bank
continuously improves its internal processes for managerial efficiency, noting
that, the number of BOI State offices/branches nationwide increased from 21 in
2016 to 31 in 2022, and that last year, it completed the construction of BOI
Tower 2 in Abuja, a thirteen-floor Eco friendly office complex with a six-level
car park structure, to provide its workers with a modern and efficient
workspace to better serve customers.
However, market observers believe that the key to the long
list of achievements of BOI is the robust industrial harmony in the company,
describing Pitan as an engaging and peaceful man, traits which are the
hallmarks of his management style.
But Pitan also credits the bank’s board chairman, Alhaji
Aliyu Abdulrahman Dikko, for the
growth-enabling climate in the bank and describes him as ‘a calm and
experienced team player, always eager for improvement and service to the
country.’
Stressing that the bank is equally implementing some
government programmes, he listed the Government Enterprise Empowerment
Programme (GEEP) and N-Power Social Investment Programmes, under which BOI
facilitated the disbursement of N68billion ($ 188.5mn) to 2.9million beneficiaries.
The bank, he noted, has equally disbursed N569.3million
($1.6million) to 56,934 beneficiaries under the North-East Rehabilitation
Fund(NERF), a BOI fund meant to rejuvenate the economies of the 6 States in
North-Eastern Nigeria affected by the adverse impact of insurgency over the
years.
“Under the MSME Survival Fund Scheme (part of the Nigerian
Economic Sustainability Plan), BOI facilitated the disbursement of the N75
billion MSME Survival Fund. To date, N66 billion ($156million) has been disbursed
to 1,258,188 beneficiaries under the scheme.
“Similarly, over N22.3 billion was disbursed to 1,309 SME
beneficiaries under the NEPC Export Expansion Facility; over $300 million
disbursed to local players in the Oil & Gas sector with no default under
the Nigeria Content Intervention Fund while BOI is the executing agency for the
FGN/Islamic Development Bank for BRAVE programme designed to increase female
entrepreneurs’ economic opportunities, especially, in conflict and social
unrest,” the bank emphasised.
In the last six years under the current management, the Bank
of Industry has received over 20 awards and recognitions, including 12 in 2022,
for outstanding performance and commitment to driving economic growth in
Nigeria. -LEADERSHIP