CBN approves license for Development Bank of Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted an operating license to the Development Bank of Nigeria, according to a statement from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

The approval is subject to the DBN meeting a minimum capital requirement of N100 billion, the reconstitution of the bank's board of directors, and a review of the organization's structure, the finance ministry said.

The DBN is a government-owned development finance institution designed to provide financing exclusively to smallscale businesses. The bank has a seed capital $1.3 billion, which was jointly provided by the World Bank, KfW (the German Development Bank), the African Development Bank, and the French Development Agency. The DBN is also expected to raise funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB).