The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recovered N264.04 billion from borrowers under its development financing programmes in the first six months of 2023.
According to the CBN’s Half-Year Economic Report for 2023, this was 27.4 per cent higher than the N207.33 billion recovered in the same period of the previous year.
The apex bank further noted that it reduced the pace of its intervention loans compared to the previous year.
According to the bank, it released N331.33 billion in H1 2023, which marks a 35.43 per cent decrease when compared to N513.13 billion funds released in the same period of the previous year.
It also noted that 63 projects benefited from the financing programmes in the first six months of this year.
A total of 63 projects, including 134,275 individuals and businesses had benefited from the bank’s 13 intervention programmes, compared with 125 and 187 projects, including 279,211 and 134,275 individuals and businesses that benefited from its 20 and 19 programmes in the preceding and the corresponding periods of 2022, respectively.
Cumulative disbursement declined by 35.4 per cent to N331.33 billion below N513.13 billion in the preceding half of 2022, while the repayment increased by 27.4 per cent to N264.04 billion above N207.33 billion in the same period. The increase in recovery reflected the drive for payments.