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Govt Begins Privatisation Of BOI

By Itunu Ajayi, Lagos
17 May 2015   |   3:16 am
THE Federal Government may have started the process of privatisation for the Bank of Industry (BoI) with the approval of bids from financial advisers for the exercise.
Rasheed Olaoluwa

Rasheed Olaoluwa

THE Federal Government may have started the process of privatisation for the Bank of Industry (BoI) with the approval of bids from financial advisers for the exercise.

Rasheed Olaoluwa, the Managing Director of the bank, said in Lagos yesterday that the involvement of private investors would enable the Bank to fulfill its mandate and to be well positioned in the list of global financing institutions

He gave the authorized capital of the Bank as N250billions against the paid up capital of N146 billions, an indication that the bank may be recapitalised after the privatization exercise.

Agusto and co recently gave the bank an A- rating, an indication that it can be compared with any development financial institution world wide.

Olaoluwa said the time has come for Nigeria economy to shift from the African rating to ratings within the global economies.

According to him, the bank had already put in place some deliberate efforts that would enable it deliver on its mandates, based on global best practices, adding that the operations of the bank and its procedures had been computerized and automated to eliminate the cumbersome ways of doing things.

He however complained about the refusal by businessmen to pay back the loans they securedn from the bank, adding that they perceived such loans as part of the national cake and “feels they do not have to pay back such loans because the bank is currently a government institution”.

The bank Managing Director was, however, optimistic that their attitude will change when the bank is partially privatised.  He said the bank had to employ the services of the EFCC to recover some of the non performing loans, which he put at 10 percent. “If you are given loan, you are expected to pay back.

We had to also set up a hall of fame where we had to honor dedicated customers who had taken loans more than three times and paid back fully, we have about ten of them.  We want to encourage people to pay back their loans, we need to utilize the money again to assist other businesses”.

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