In the quest to provide financial service to micro, small and medium scale enterprises, SunTrust Bank Nigeria Ltd, a regional commercial bank has taken financial inclusion to the unbanked traders in Lagos state.
The commercial bank disclosed that it is interested in onboarding informal businesses because they can galvanize the economy.
“The focus of the bank is actually on MSMEs which means we start from micro to small and medium scale enterprises, we believe that is the sector that is going to galvanize the economy,” Ayo Babatunde, MD/ CEO, SunTrust Bank told BusinessDay at the newly commissioned Idumota branch in Lagos Island.
In his remarks, Babatunde revealed that the decision to open a new branch at the Idumota Market was born out of the fact that the strategic location is in the centre of Lagos and is home to many excluded businesses.
“We are focusing on the market men and women because they are the most excluded from the financial sector. The MSMEs have some needs that they cannot get from other banks and so we are ready to let our customers bank on their terms. Whatever they need we are going to provide it for them,” Omotayo Idowu, Business Development Manage, SunTrust Bank said.
Assessing the creditworthiness of small businesses is one of the many challenges faced by MSMEs when they want to access credit for expansion, the World Bank’s 2017 report disclosed.
According to the report: Assessment of the Shortfalls and Opportunities in Financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Emerging Markets, Nigerian MSMEs is estimated to be 37 million and are faced with a finance gap of $158.13 billion.
The Washington-based financial institution, therefore, recommended the “use of alternative data in credit reporting” to enhance access to credit for MSMEs and individuals.
With a headquarter in Lagos, SunTrust Bank is the “first full-fledged technology bank” and the first bank to receive a regional banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since 2001.
“For the number of years, I have been banking with the bank, I have only had reasons to rejoice for the services and products they have always made available to me. I encourage my colleagues in the market to come onboard and enjoy all that I have benefited from SunTrust,” Adeyemi Oladipo, an importer at the Idumota Market said.
According to the commercial bank, it has a product; Smart 247 Account which offers doubles interest on savings with no account maintenance charges. This is as a result of the bank’s structure which is set up to completely impact lives, the bank revealed.
“What this account allows you to do is that it is an account that operates like a Savings Account and at the same time like a Current Account. In a normal Current Account, you will get withdrawal charges, which you know as the maintenance charge but in the Smart 247 account, we have waved that for the customers,”Babtunde said.
The CEO also disclosed that “in a normal Savings Account you get 3.86 percent of interest rate on the savings but we have raised that a little to say if you double your savings within a month, we can give you 7.77 percent savings rates.”
As of 31 December 2018, SunTrust Bank had total assets of N43.967, 65.5 percent increased compared to the N26.56 billion it reported in the corresponding period of 2017.
The bank maintains brick-and-mortar branches and automated teller machines in Lagos, Abuja, Uyo, and Port-Harcourt, although 90 percent of the bank’s customers transact business on digital platforms, without visiting any physical branch.
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