The Development Bank of Nigeria ( DBN) has advanced more than N439 billion credit facility to over 180 businesses within four years of its existence with women and youth-owned businesses being the highest beneficiaries.
The Managing Director/CEO of the bank, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, who made the disclosure during a visit of the Institute of Directors, Centre for Corporate Governance (IoDCCG) to the bank, alluded the success within the short period to strict application of sound corporate governance principles and practices and a robust risk assessment mechanism put in place in its operations.
Sharing the historical background of DBN, which he said commenced operation in 2017 as a wholesale development finance institution with the mandate to provide credit facility to MSMEs through participating intermediary banks in Nigeria, Okpanachi said part of the bank’s mandate include Credit Guarantee and Technical Assistance to MSMEs.
The MD informed the visiting IoDCCG’s team that the bank has onboarded about 47 financial institutions as its participating intermediary banks and that with an ownership structure comprising diverse institutions which included the Federal Government and certain multilateral funding institutions, DBN is capitalised to the tune of half a trillion naira.
In his response, the IoDCCG Chairman, Shuaibu Idris, informed the bank that IoDCCG being an organisation limited by guarantee is the citadel of corporate governance in Nigeria and that the Centre has over the period watched DBN with keen interest and noted its achievements. Idris indicated that the application of good Corporate Governance was the main attraction to IoDCCG and the reason the Centre is approaching the Bank for partnership given the shared vision.
The move, he said, will further strengthen the Bank and enhance its capacity to deliver more on its mandate.
Idris disclosed that IoDCCG offers Corporate Governance trainings, Board Evaluation and Induction as well as Corporate Governance famework review and audit to businesses and institutions in the public and private sector organisations.
He however, enjoined the Bank to leverage on the Centre’s services to continue to stay on top of its mandate.
He praised the leadership of the Bank at both the Board and Management levels as one of the best in the industry, which was why the Bank achieved an unprecedented success within four years of operation.
The Chairman of IoDCCG went on to make specific request to the Management of DBN, which include
Partnership with the Bank for the upcoming maiden edition of National Corporate Governance Summit;
Training and certification of MSMEs on Corporate Governance; Institutional Corporate Membership registration of DBN with the Centre; Training and Corporate Governance services to DBN by IoDCCG; Paper Presentation by the MD/CEO at the maiden National Corporate Governance Summit; and Partnership with DBN on production of Corporate Governance Compendium.
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