Bank of Industry Posts 44% Increase in Profit Before Tax in 2016

The Bank of Industry (BOI) posted an operating profit before tax (PBT) of N17billion in 2016, representing a 44 per cent increase over the N11.9billion that was recorded in 2015.

The Bank’s loans and advances also rose by 10 per cent to N171billion in 2016 from N156billion in 2015. Disbursements to small and medium enterprises similarly went up by 42 per cent within the same period to N8billion compared with N5.64billion in 2015. The quality of BOI’s risk assets as well improved phenomenally with a reduction in the ratio of non-performing loans (NPL) to 3.72per cent in 2016 from 5.87 in 2015. This feat was achieved despite that the average ratio of non-performing loans in the nation’s banking industry rose sharply to 14 per cent, which is beyond the Central Bank of Nigeria’s threshold of 5per cent.

Commenting on BOI’s outstanding performance in 2016, which has been described as the best in the bank’s history despite last year’s economic head winds, the institution’s Acting Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Waheed Olagunju attributed it to strong com- mitment to professionalism and strict adherence to global best practices by the bank’s competent, dedicated as well as passionate management team and staff.

He added that these achievements also culminated in BOI’s consistently high ratings by international and domestic rating agencies being upgraded and affirmed. While Moody’s assigned BOI Aa1 in 2016 up from Ba3 of 2015, Agusto’s rating of AA- in 2016 was higher than A+ of 2015. Also, AA+ assigned by Fitch in 2015 was affirmed in 2016.