Skye Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks, has said it is driven by the private sector, whose deposits amount to 87 percent.
The bank also said public or government sector deposits occupy the remaining 13 percent, while it is targeting to raise N30 billion through the capital market.
“We want to raise capital so that we stop borrowing. But as a bank, we will continue to borrow to finance our business and customers. What is important is that we have a healthy net interest margin,” said Timothy Oguntayo, chief executive officer and group managing director, Skye Bank plc, during an interactive session with business and financial journalists last weekend in Lagos.
Oguntayo said the bank has taken aggressive decisions on three key sectors, including the downstream, the maritime and the real estate.
According to him, banks cannot continue to support oil marketers when there has not been any policy statement on loans lent them in the past.
He said the bank is also cautious on the real estate sector as mortgage funding has not been forthcoming.
He further said the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)’s mandate on Nigerian maritime players to comply with double haul just like their foreign counterparts, affected their cash flow. He stressed that challenges stakeholders in the three sectors are facing is one reason why the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) appear to be higher than five percent.
“We thought we could make these loans provisioning until things return to normal. Then, we can return them to the books,” he explained.
The managing director put the bank’s exposure to the private sector to N5 billion, but emphasised that finance for the sector was provided in conjunction with four other banks.
“I believe by the end of this quarter, NPL will come back to four percent,” he said, adding that there was no Ebola effect on the bank, as international subsidiaries did not record any loss from the outbreak.
ODINAKA ANUDU
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