MD, NEXIM, Mr. Roberts Orya

James Emejo 
Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) said at the weekend that a total of N23.33 billion had so far been made available to Nigerian non-oil exporters, particularly the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Addressing journalists in Abuja on the “Three-Year Turnaround Performance Score-card of the Executive Management” of the bank, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NEXIM, Mr. Roberts Orya also said the bank had issued guarantees worth $27.3 million between 2009 and August 2012.

The interventions were provided in targeted sectors with high growth potentials, including manufacturing, which gulped about N11.3 billion or 48 per cent of the total credit.

Other beneficiaries include the agro-processing sector with about N5 billion or 21 per cent of the share, while the solid minerals sector received about N2 billion, representing 8.9 per cent of the total support. The services sector also got about N4.8 billion credit within the period.

Orya had been widely commended for turning the fortunes of the bank around after lax corporate governance and poor risk management culture almost rendered the institution bankrupt as at 2009.

The NEXIM boss said the bank had been brought back to life, as its current audited profit stood at about N189 million, from a loss of about N5.460 billion in 2009, when the new management took over.

“This was a complete departure from the past. It is gratifying to inform you that the bank achieved an improved and better performance in 2011, which is however being audited. From January 2012 to date, the bank has continued with its impressive profit making trend,” Orya said.

He stated that over 14,358 jobs were either generated or sustained through various operational interventions while about $189.20 million is estimated to be generated annually from foreign exchange earnings.

On the bank’s loan recovery efforts, Orya said the bank in the period under review realised a cumulative recovery of N1.3 billion. He added that the turnaround in the bank’s performance had ensured an appreciable return on equity investment for its shareholders – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Finance. According to him, dividend for the 2010 financial year had been declared and paid, the first time since 2003 when a dividend was last paid.