Between January and December 2021, the Nigerian banking sector’s credit to the private sector rose by N5.1tn or 16.67 per cent, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This was contained in the Money and Credit statistics released by the regulator. The report showed that credit to the private sector stood at N30.6tn during the first month of 2021. The data, however, put credit to the private sector at N35.7tn by December of last year, indicating a N5.1tn increase. A close analysis of the monthly credit value shows a continuous increase throughout the year, except for February when credit to the sector dropped by N100bn. In February, the figure fell to N30.5tn from the N30.6tn recorded in January. However, bank lending to the private sector rose to N31.4tn in March, further to N31.9tn in April, N32.1tn in May, and N32.6tn in June. The climb continued in July as credit to the sector rose to N32.8tn.  It increased to N33.4tn in August, N34.39tn in September, N35.3tn in October and N35.7tn in November. On a year-on-year basis, credit to the private sector rose by N5.6tn, from N30.1tn recorded in December 2020 to N35.7tn in December 2021.

Punch