When the Bank of Industry announced the growth of its asset
base beyond the N1 trillion mark, it was a historic achievement
among Development Finance Institutions in the country. With the
announcement in 2018, came with high expectations of the bank’s
growth trajectory in the years ahead.
“For the first time in the bank’s history, we surpassed N1 trillion
in asset base. The Group’s profit was over N36 billion. For a bank
that is owned by the government, it is a very good result,” Mr
Kayode Pitan, the Managing Director, said.
The Bank’s Chairman, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulrahman Dikko, confirmed
the achievements in his details of the bank’s financial results,
which included: a 30 percent increase of N36.7 billion in profit
before tax, compared to the N26.4 billion made in 2017, a growth
of the Group’s total assets by 49 percent to N1.07 trillion from
N713.3 billion in 2017; as well as an improvement in total equity
which increased by 12.5 percent year-on-year to N258.3 billion
from N241 billion in the previous year.
However, the high hopes of the bank to build on these
achievements and their resilience were soon to be tested in a global
economic storm with strong headwinds. In 2020, the national economy shrank by 1.8%, its most profound decline since 1983. The COVID-19 crisis drove the economic slowdown and intensified risk aversion. This was heightened by low oil prices and shrinking foreign remittances.
With economic activities grounded by COVID-19 and many
businesses struggling for survival, the Bank of Industry, as a
development financial institution catering to thousands of Micro,
Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as large
enterprises, came under additional pressure because it also had
to support its numerous customers to survive.
Despite these challenges, by 2022, the bank’s financial results
and further achievements told the story of resilience and
remarkable success, of its Board and management.
2022 Results
The BOI continued its consistent trend of reporting appreciable
growth in major financial indices on a year-on-year basis, thus
consolidating its position as Nigeria’s largest and most impactful
Development Finance Institution.
Gross earnings grew by 15.4 per cent to ₦212.96 billion in 2022
from ₦184.55 billion in 2021. Also, interest income improved by
21.1 per cent in 2022 to ₦212.96 billion from ₦175.83 billion in
the previous year. Revenue from customer loans and investments
were responsible for this growth.
Profit before tax improved by 15.6 percent to ₦71.99 billion in
the year from ₦62.28 billion in 2021. A remarkable growth in
interest income and other income lines, alongside the reduction in
impairment charges, facilitated this appreciable growth.
Total equity grew by 11.7 percent to ₦429.83 billion from
₦384.85 billion in 2021, while loans and advances improved by
3.2 percent to ₦805.46 billion from ₦780.48 billion in 2021.
The Pitan Years
Since his commencement in 2017, the leadership of Kayode Pitan
has demonstrated commitment and innovativeness that has
improved the bank’s fortunes.
- The bank’s total assets have grown by an impressive 248%
between 2016 and 2022, reaching ₦1.71tn by the end of 2021
and closing at ₦2.38tn as of December 2022. - BOI has also grown its equity position by 95% since 2016 –
from ₦220bn to ₦430bn ($935mn) in December 2022, exceeding
the regulatory requirement of ₦ 10bn ($ 26mn) for retail DFIs - Profit before tax (PBT) jumped by 325% between 2016 and
2022, from N17bn to N72bn. The bank has contributed to the
national budget by paying dividends of approximately N28.9bn
and taxes amounting to N30.4bn. Generally, the bank typically
distributes 15% of its net income as dividends.
With over 85% 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 5%.
A fundamental enabler of this sterling financial performance is the
successful conclusion of key capital-raising transactions from the
international financial market by the bank. Under Pitan, from
2017 to date, BOI has raised over $5b from the international
financial markets.
The first of the transactions was a $750 Million syndication
concluded in 2017 with the support of Afreximbank and a team
of international Financial Institutions (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 fourth transaction. This transaction marked the first
of its kind in several ways to the bank, Nigeria and Africa. 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.
It, therefore, represents a benchmark for
other prospective issuers from the African continent. 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
Cape Town, South Africa.
The fifth capital raising transaction was the €1 billion guaranteed
senior loan facility concluded in August of 2022. This deal also
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 sixth
capital raising. Through this credit facility, the bank can expand its financing interventions in environmentally friendly and green
projects. A grant of €2.5 million was also included in this deal to
support capacity building for both our staff and customers.
Regarding developmental impact, BOI disbursed the sum of
₦210.7 billion to 418,436 beneficiaries in the year through its
direct and indirect lending platforms and through funds that it
manages on behalf of its strategic partners.
The bank’s intervention programmes, which traversed several
sectors and segments of the Nigerian economy did not only
contribute significantly to our 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 has disbursed over N418 billion to 41,654 beneficiaries in
Food and Agro Processing, and about 88,700mt of rice and maize
was produced.
Pitan attributes 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 majority shareholders (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.
Platforms For Government Programmes
The Bank of Industry is the implementing agency of many
government programmes. They include the Government
Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and N-Power Social
Investment Programmes, under which BOI facilitated the
disbursement of ₦ 68.0bn ($188.5mn) to 2.9mn beneficiaries.
It has disbursed ₦569.3mn ($1.6mn) to 56,934 beneficiaries
under the North-East Rehabilitation Fund (“NERF”) – BOI fund 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 ₦75 billion MSME Survival Fund. To date, ₦66 billion
($156mn) has been disbursed to 1,258,188 beneficiaries under
the scheme. Others include:
- NEPC Export Expansion Facility – Over N22.3 billion disbursed to
1,309 SME beneficiaries. - Nigeria Content Intervention Fund – Over $300 million
disbursed to local players in the Oil & Gas sector with no default. - The bank 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. - Also executing agency for FGN/World Bank $750 million Nigeria
Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG – CARES)
Programme.
Awards And Recognitions
In six years of Mr. Pitan’s leadership, the Bank of Industry has
received over 20 awards and recognitions, 12 of which were
received in 2022, for outstanding performance and commitment
to drive economic growth in Nigeria.
They include the Award for Innovation in Financial Services, the
African Banker Awards 2021; Award for Innovation in Financial
Services, the African Banker Awards 2021; Award of Honour 2021
by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria; and Best SME
Funding DFI in Nigeria award at the All Africa Association for
Small and Medium Enterprises.
Others are the Most Sustainable Bank Award at the 2022 World
Finance Awards, October 2022; ‘Best SME Partner Bank of the
Year’ by the European Magazine Global Banking and Finance
Awards, October 2022; Best Development Bank Africa 2022
award’ at the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards, October
2022; and ‘Banking CEO of the Year, 2022’ by the European
Magazine Global Banking and Finance Awards, October 2022.
Infrastructure Development
The bank continuously improves its internal processes for
managerial efficiency. The number of BOI State offices/branches
nationwide increased from 21 in 2016 to 31 in 2022. Last year,
BOI 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.
The bank’s stakeholders believe that the key to the list of
achievements is the robust industrial harmony in the company.
One senior staff member of one of the Banks customers
reportedly described Pitan as “an engaging and peaceful man,
traits which are the hallmarks of his management style.”
However, Pitan also credits the bank’s board chairman for the
growth-enabling climate in the bank. He describes him as “a calm
and experienced team player, always eager for improvement and
service to the country.”
