CEM Report, Lagos
First City Monument Bank (FCMB), one of Nigerian foremost commercial banks has secured a $50 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group to support the Bank’s lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
The loan announced by IFC today is made through IFC’s COVID-19 fast-track financing support package to help organizations expand their lending to business organization to enable them sustain business activities disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IFC loan reflects the organization’s commitment to Nigeria’s private sector following the severe challenges brought by the health and economic crisis. The funds will allow FCMB to support hundreds of businesses with trade financing and working capital loans.
Speaking on the development, FCMB’s Chief Executive, Adam Nuru, said, “IFC’s loan facility will allow us to keep credit flowing to SMEs as well as corporate companies across all sectors of Nigeria’s economy, including in the health, pharmaceutical, food and trading industries.”
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Eme Essien Lore, IFC’s Country Manager for Nigeria, while speaking on the IFC support through FCMB, said, “Supporting financial institutions like FCMB is vital to keeping smaller businesses solvent, saving jobs, and limiting economic damage in the face of a challenge as formidable as COVID-19. Although Nigeria has a strong and dynamic private sector, it needs liquidity now to ensure it remains viable during and after COVID-19.”
IFC, in March set aside $8 billion fast-track financial support to existing clients to help sustain economies and preserve jobs during this global crisis, which will likely hit the poorest and most vulnerable countries the hardest.
IFC’s has supported Nigerian economy for over two decades with a portfolio rising to currently $1.3 billion in sectors including manufacturing, financial services, infrastructure and technology.
