BoI says shareholders, CBN, to benefit from N7.89bn dividend

By Odunitan Ayeni, Abuja

As part of efforts to deepen Nigeria’s economy, the Bank of Industry (BOI) has declared a dividend payment of N7.89 billion for the financial year ended December 2021 to its shareholders, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, thereby showing its capacity to withstand economic headwinds to boost Federal Government’s revenue.

The Bank also said it recorded a 75 per cent increase in its Profit-Before-Tax (PBT) to N61.15 billion in the 2021 financial period.

BOI’s Managing Director/CEO, Olukayode Pitan, said at the bank’s 62nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja, that the result showed the bank’s capacity to withstand economic headwinds to boost the Federal Government’s revenue as well as the upward trajectory in the bank’s performance and results had so far enabled it to attract local and foreign capital in order to fulfill the obligations of its mandate.

According to him, in February 2022, BOI successfully issued a €750 million Eurobond to enhance its capital base to support its customers and the real sector of the Nigerian economy.

“In the year under review, the Bank disbursed a total of N213.63 billion to 30,406 Nigerian enterprises through both direct and indirect methods. This represents a 47.3per cent increase over disbursements in 2020′, Pitan said.

He continued, “The 2021 disbursement includes N2.99 billion to 22,120 farmers through the bank’s Smallholder Farmers on-lending product; and N1billion to 4,000 micro-retailers through the Bank’s MSME Distributor Finance Programme (DFP).

“Through these interventions, an estimated 950,640 direct and indirect jobs were created in 2021. Pitan also reaffirmed the bank’s continued efforts towards supporting its stakeholders and achieving its mandate,” he said.

BOI’s boss also reaffirmed the bank’s continued efforts toward supporting its stakeholders and achieving its mandate.

It will be recalled that at the commissioning of the second tower of the BoI building in Abuja in March 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari commended the Bank for disbursing more than N1.24 trillion to 4.2 million beneficiaries from Micro, Small, Medium, and Large Enterprises as well as urging the management of the Bank to ensure that it impacts is felt all over the country.

President Buhari also expressed satisfaction that the new building which is a world-class building was financed from the internally generated revenue IGR of the Bank and therefore approved the issuance of the sovereign guarantee to help the Bank raise funds in the Eurobond market.