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Total domestic credit extended by Nigerian banking institutions to the private sector reached N19.87 trillion in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, up 5.6 per cent when compared to the value recorded in the previous quarter of this year. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated this in its latest Selected Banking Sector Data report released on Sunday.   

The data also reveals the banking sector recorded its highest quarterly gross loans of N19.46 trillion in Q3. Quarter-on-quarter, gross loans increased by N560 billion or 3 per cent. The value for specific provisions in the last quarter was N1.44 trillion.

Meanwhile, non-performing loans (NPLs) dropped by N42.4 billion or 3.5 per cent between July and September 2020, compared to the previous three-month period. But in comparison to Q3 2019, the NPL value increased by 5.6 per cent in Q3 2020.    

In terms of sectoral allocation of the private sector credit in the last quarter, the NBS said the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors got allocations of N3.74 trillion and N3.03 trillion, respectively. These figures represent the highest credit allocations (18.8 per cent and 15.3 per cent, respectively) in the period under review.

As a share of total credit to the private sector, the agriculture sector received 4.7 per cent or N932.76 billion, construction sector (4.7 per cent or N940.54 billion), trade and general commerce (6.4 per cent or N1.27 trillion), and real estate (3.4 per cent or N673.62 billion).    

Bank credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP was 52.6 per cent in Q3 2020 – based on last quarter’s aggregate nominal GDP of N37.81 trillion.

The NBS report also shows that the total volume of transactions on electronic payment channels in Q3 2020 was 2.8 billion, valued at N320 trillion. The transactions were dominated by 1.8 million real-time gross settlement (RTGS) transfers, valued at N116 trillion.