Business
Nigeria’s debt increases to N31tr
Nigeria’s total debt stock has risen in the last three months to N31.009 trillion ($85.897 billion), from N28.628 trillion ($79.303billion), according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
DMO on Wednesday in Abuja’s new total debt figure comprises the debt stock of the Federal Government, the 36 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The N2.381trillion (or $6.593 billion) increase recorded in the debt Stock, the DMO said, “was accounted for by the $3.36 billion Budget Support Loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).”
Other contributors to the nation’s growing debt profile include “New Domestic Borrowing to finance the Revised 2020 Appropriation Act, the issuance of the N162.557 billion Sukuk and Promissory Notes issued to settle Claims of Exporters”.
The DMO has also warned that it expects the Public Debt Stock to grow. “The nation’s debt will grow because of “the balance of the New Domestic Borrowing and expected disbursements are made by the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, which were arranged to finance the 2020 Budget”.
The DMO said more Promissory Notes would be issued later, adding: “This and new borrowings by state governments are also expected to increase the Public Debt Stock”.
It will be recalled that the 2020 Appropriation Act had to be revised in the face of the adverse and severe impact of COVID-19 on the Government’s Revenues and increased expenditure needs on health and economic stimulus, amongst others.
As a result of these borrowings from multilateral financial institutions, the federal government will be compelled to meet some stringent conditionalities like the removal of petroleum products subsidy, adjusted electricity tariffs, currency value adjustments and the IMF auditing of the books of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Business
TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank
Cyril Ogar
After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.
Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.
The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.
According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.
This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.
Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.
“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.
“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.
Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”
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