CBN sets up N200bn microfinance fund

REPRIEVE is coming the way of microfinance banks (MFBs) and small businesses in the country, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has established N200 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development to provide liquidity support.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune at the sidelines of the CBN organised seminar for finance correspondents and business editors in Umuahia, Abia State, at the weekend, a top official of the apex bank, who craved anonymity, said the CBN governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, had given the nod to launch the fund, at the microfinance conference scheduled for Abuja in August.

Confirming the development, the Director, Other Financial Institutions Development (OFID) department of the CBN, Mr Olufemi Fabanwo, said the fund was not to bail out MFBs, stating that it was meant to assist them overcome temporary liquidity challenges.

He noted that to access the fund, the affected MFB must be carrying low Non-Performing Loan (NPLs) in its books and must show ability to pay back the loans on the agreed terms.

Meanwhile, the banking watchdog has stated its determination to meet its target of attracting most Nigerians to the financial landscape, through the financial inclusion strategy.

According to Director, Development Finance Department, CBN, Mr Paul Eluhaiwe, a financial inclusion secretariat had been set up in the CBN to coordinate stakeholder activities towards increasing financial inclusion, collect and analyse financial inclusion data, track and monitor progress on financial inclusion and address capacity building initiatives.

Source: Nigerian Tribune