Ike Amos
Abuja — Non-Performing Loans, NPL, from the energy sector in the books of Zenith Bank Plc dipped slightly by 2.88 percent to N38.487 billion at the end of 2018, compared to N39.63 billion recorded in the bank’s books at the end of 2017.
In its 2018 Annual Report and Accounts made available to the investing public, Zenith Bank also disclosed that as at December 31, 2018, its gross loans to the energy sector, comprising oil and gas, as well as power firms, stood at 598.99 billion, dropping by 19.46 percent from N743.713 billion recorded in the 2017 financial year.
Particularly, the bank noted that loans to oil and gas firms in 2018 dropped to N510.139 billion, from N660.243 billion recorded in 2017, while loans to power firms rose from N83.47 billion in 2017 to N88.852 billion in 2018.
The bank further noted that total NPLs as at December 31, 2018, stood at 100.503 billion, depreciating by 5.06 percent from N105.865 billion recorded in 2017, while total gross loans extended to the entire sector of the Nigerian economy dipped by 10.22 percent to N2.02 trillion in 2018, from N2.25 trillion recorded in 2017.
The bank stated that non-performing loans of energy firms in its books as at December 31, 2018, accounted for 38.29 percent of its total NPL which stood at N100.503 billion within the same period and represented 1.91 percent of total loans of N2.02 trillion
Giving a breakdown of NPLs of energy firms for 2018 in its books, the bank noted that bad loans attributed to oil and gas firms stood at N38.427 billion, while NPLs linked to power firms stood at N60 million, this was in contrast to N39.618 billion and N12 million owed by oil and power firms respectively, in 2017.
Furthermore, Zenith Bank’s total exposure to the energy sector in 2018, which stood at N598.99 billion, accounted for 29.65 percent of its total loans to all the sectors of the economy in 2018, which stood at N2.02 trillion, this was in comparison to 2017 figures, whereby exposure to energy firms which stood at N543.713 billion, accounted for 33.05 percent of total exposure loans of N2.25 trillion which given out to the economy in 2017.
Giving a breakdown of its NPLs on a region by region basis, the bank disclosed that the South-South, South-West, South-East and North-Central regions recorded NPLs of N1.07 billion, N87.65 billion, N1.263 billion and N2.158 billion respectively.
In addition, the bank noted that the North-West, North-East and Rest of Africa recorded NPLs of N359 million, N129 million and N7.873 billion respectively.