SAN FRANCISCO, December 27, (THEWILL) – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that the aggregate domestic credit in commercial banks grew by 7.61 percent in October 2020, compared with 7.35 percent in the previous month.
The apex bank made this known in communiqué number 133 of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on November 23 and 24 and signed by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
This it said was as a result of the bank’s policy on Loan-to-Deposit Ratio, supported by its interventions in the various sectors of the economy, adding that total bank credit grew in the banking industry by N290.13bn between the end of August and the middle of November.
The communiqué added, “Total gross credit by the banking industry stood at N19.54tn as at November 13, 2020, compared with N19.33tn at the end of August 2020, an increase of N290.13bn.
“When compared with N15.56tn at the commencement of the LDR policy in May 2019, total gross credit increased by N3.97tn, these loans were granted mainly to manufacturing (N738bn), general commerce (N874bn), agric and forestry (N301bn), construction (N291bn), and ICT (N231bn), just to mention a few.”
The communiqué noted further that the MPC observed the gradual improvement in manufacturing and non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Indices, which rose to 50.2 and 47.6 index points respectively, in November 2020, compared with 49.4 and 46.8 index points in October 2020.
It added, “This development signposts an increase in economic activities, driven by growth in new orders, improved supply delivery time, rising production levels, and new export orders. The employment level index component of the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs also improved in November 2020 to 47.3 index points and 46.7 index points, respectively, compared with 46.0 index points and 44.2 index points in October 2020.
“The committee, however, noted the likely downside risk to growth of the recent unrest in the country, warning that this may adversely impact economic recovery in the near term.”
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