Ike Amos
Dublin, Ireland — Total credit extended to oil and gas companies, as well as power and energy firms by banks operating in the country grew by 2.84 per cent to N11.2 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2023, from N10.9 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.
According to data on Deposit Money Banks’ Sectoral Distribution of Credit for the third quarter of 2023, released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), credit to petroleum and power firms accounted for 28.65 per cent of total credit advanced to the economy by deposit money banks in the country, compared to 29.07 per cent of the total credit in the second quarter of 2023.
Specifically, the CBN reported that total credit advanced by banks to the Nigerian economy appreciated by 4.34 per cent, from N37.48 trillion recorded at the end of the second quarter of 2023, to N39.106 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2023.
Giving a breakdown of credit to energy firms, the CBN noted that funds advanced to the petroleum industry stood at N10.058 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2023, while loans and advances to power and energy firms stood at N1.146 trillion.
In particular, credit to oil firms, under the industrial sector stood at N7.198 trillion, while credit to power and energy firms under the same sector stood at N719.657 billion; while credit to oil and gas firms in the services sector stood at N2.861 trillion at the end of the third quarter, and credit to power & energy firms stood at N426.515 billion in the same quarter.
In comparison, at the end of the second quarter of 2023, in the industrial sector, credit to oil and gas firms stood at N7.031 trillion, while credit to power and energy firms stood at N758.451 billion.
In the services sector, N2.673 trillion and N432.951 billion was recorded as total credit to oil and gas companies, and power and energy firms, respectively, as at the end of the second quarter of 2023.
In its analysis of sectoral credit utilisation, the The CBN said: “Total credit extended to key sectors of the economy by other depository corporations (ODC) increased by 4.3 per cent to N39.106 trillion in the third quarter of 2023, compared with the N37.479 trillion in the preceding quarter, reflecting efforts to boost economic growth and create jobs.
“The growth was driven, primarily, by the increased credit to the services and industry sectors which expanded by 5.9 and 3.0 per cent, respectively. Credit to the agricultural sector, however, declined marginally by 0.4 per cent.
“In terms of share in total credit extended to key sectors during the quarter, the services sector remained the dominant recipient, accounting for 52.3 per cent. The industrial sector followed closely with 43 per cent, while agriculture accounted for the remaining 4.7 per cent.”
