President Bola Tinubu has asked Nigerian banks to translate the recently concluded recapitalisation exercise into affordable credit for businesses, warning that bigger balance sheets would have limited economic value if productive sectors remain starved of finance.
Tinubu spoke on Tuesday at the 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Abuja.
Represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, the President said the financial sector must shift from merely financing government to supporting businesses, investment and job creation.
“A resilient banking system cannot exist indefinitely where businesses cannot obtain affordable credit, manufacturing that is struggling cannot expand, and millions of productive MSMEs remain outside of the formal financial system,” Tinubu said.
He added, “The recently concluded bank recapitalisation must produce more than bigger balance sheets. It must translate into capital formation in the real economy, financing Nigerian businesses as they expand across Africa and pursue our ambition of a trillion-dollar economy.
