Source: This Day (Nigeria).

Original article available here.

ABUJA, NIGERIA, January 18 – The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has said CBN has licenced 107 newly established Microfinance Banks (MFBs), in addition to the 600 community banks that have already been promoted to that status.

He also said the consolidation exercise in the banking system resulted in the doubling of commercial banks’ deposits from NGN 2 trillion (USD 17.1 billion) in 2005 to NGN 5 trillion (USD 142 billion) by 2007, as well as an additional seven million depositors to the banks.

Soludo made these disclosures at the International Microfinance Conference, organised by CBN yesterday in Abuja, adding that the microfinance policy, which evolved as a result of the perceived need for funding of businesses, which have no access to banks’ funds, will benefit only 35 per cent of the nation’s population, particularly micro and small scale entrepreneurs, due to uneven spread of the MFBs across the states. He said, “without access to finance, the vast resources in the country would not be utilised. Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not happen without appropriate access to finance,” he said.

Challenging state governors to actively play a major part in the establishment of MFBs, Soludo expressed regrets that the non-commitment experienced in most states and local governments of the Federation, where one percent of their annual budgets have not been devoted to microfinancing as required by the Microfinance Policy and Regulatory Framework.

Soludo reiterated CBN’s commitment to facilitate further achievements that are part of a larger programme, to actualise Financial System Strategy 2020 in the next few years.

By Chinwe Ochu, This Day (Nigeria)