The journey to making Nigeria Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, a force to reckon with has been tough, but today, the Abba Bello-led management team can beat their chest that they have taken NEXIM bank a notch- higher.
NEXIM is an export credit agency set up to drive the economy through trade finance, project finance, export market advisory services, treasury operations, guarantees, market information amongst other things.
Under Bello’s leadership, NEXIM has been well positioned to fund and drive the non-oil sector, grow exports and add value to the agro-processing sector.
The leadership of NEXIM bank came on board with a focus and drive to be the number one option for exporters of made-in-Nigeria goods.
Admittingly, the bank has not reached its destined position in the comity of Export-import banks yet, but it has started moving in the right direction.
In some couple of years, NEXIM will have helped boost the economy of the country through the exportation of Nigerian made goods. It is targeting being the first funding option for exporters in Nigeria.
Abba Bello, who is fondly called the big-father of NEXIM, is grateful to all the team members, who have been helpful in the discharge of duties.
The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) was established in 1991 as a division of the Export Credit Agency (ECA) with a share capital of N 50,000,000,000 (Fifty Billion Naira) held equally by the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank, which replaced the Nigerian Export Credit Guarantee & Insurance Corporation set up in 1988, has the following main statutory functions:
• Provision of export credit guarantee and export credit insurance facilities to its clients
• Provision of credit in local currency to its clients in support of exports
• Establishment and management of funds connected with exports
• Maintenance of a foreign exchange revolving fund for lending to exporters who need to import foreign inputs to facilitate export production
• Provision of domestic credit insurance where such a facility is likely to assist export
• Maintenance of a trade information system in support of export business
As at today, NEXIM has disbursed over N68 billion to 68 Nigerian entrepreneurs under its Export Development Fund.
The funds went to beneficiaries in the manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals and oil and gas sectors of the economy.
The Central Bank of Nigeria released N50 billion to the bank in 2018 for the export development programme. The fund was later increased to N100 billion in December.
The Abba Bello led bank is also collaborating with the CBN to manage a N500 billion non-oil export stimulation facility.
The facility was introduced to provide long term funds to export oriented projects towards increasing value added exports.
The bank has carried out the processing of 227 applications worth N159.27 billion and $37.67 million out of which N98.87 billion has been approved.
The bank targets a balance sheet size of at least N1.2 trillion, in 2023. That’s huge!
This is achievable, because the bank’s balance sheet grew from N67.73 million in April 2017 to N158.84 billion as at January 31, 2021. The bank has also done well in recovering its loans.
Introduction of aggressive debt recovery and proactive loan work out measures leading to increase in overall recoveries from only N200 million in December 2016 to N4.76 billion and US$750,000 between January 2017 and January 2021. In addition, assets worth about N7 billion are currently up for sale.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
