President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointments of Aliyu AbdulRahman Dikko as Chairman and that of Olukayode Pitan as the Managing Director/CEO of the Bank of Industry (BoI) for another term of five years.
The new appointments which take effect from May 27, 2022, was conveyed via a letter signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and dated March 11, 2022.
Under Pitan’s leadership, BOI has consistently delivered on its mandate to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing long-term financing and counter-cyclical loans diversified across industries such as agro-processing, gender businesses and renewable energy among others.
In the last five years, BOI has promoted financial inclusion by supporting the expansion of over 3 million enterprises, thereby creating over 7 million jobs.
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To expand its capital base to meet the needs of its customers, and contribute to the economic growth of Nigeria, Pitan led BOI’s successful foray into the international market and has raised about $3.8billion in the last 4 years. This includes a $750million syndicated medium-term loan in 2018 (fully paid); a €1billion syndicated loan in March 2020; a $1billion syndicated loan in December 2020; and a €750million Senior Eurobond (the first by any African national DFI) in February 2022.
Investor confidence in BOI is reflected in its balance sheet which has more than doubled since Pitan’s appointment in 2017 growing significantly from N713billion to about N1.7trillion as at December 2021. The bank consistently demonstrates resilience in the face of macro-economic headwinds and recorded remarkable growth, even in face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
BOI’s growth trajectory is also reflected in its favourable credit ratings from global rating agencies. Recently, Fitch Ratings upgraded the bank’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘AAA(nga)’ from ‘AA+(nga);’ and affirmed the bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook.
Pitan has over 30 years of experience across various sectors of the financial services industry.
