European Bank Loans $330 Million to 3 Nigerian Banks

European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a N240 million loan ($330 million) to three Nigerian banks for the development of infrastructural facilities in the country.
The three banks that benefited from the facility are First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc. The three banks were among the nation’s banks that passed the special joint audit by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), which led to the removal of the chief executive officers and management teams of nine banks and the injection of N620 billion bailout funds into the nine troubled banks.
The facility with a 10-year tenure is expected to significantly boost the Federal Government’s efforts at enhancing the state of infrastructure and delivery of new facilities through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.
EIB said the funding was its contribution to infrastructure development in Nigeria. Plutarchos Sakellaris, EIB’s vice president, said: “We look forward to working closely with three of the strongest banks in Nigeria to increase infrastructure finance in the country, following regulatory reforms and the transformation of the banking sector.”
 “The three banks should be commended for their leadership in governance, transparency and risk management.” He said the deal will underline EIB’s commitment to Africa as part of the EU’s wider support to economic development on the continent, which is expected to impact positively on the socio-economic wellbeing of the people.
Stanbic IBTC, a member of the Standard Bank Group, got a 55million (about N11.33 billion) facility from the deal. Chris Newson, Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC described the deal as “yet another indication of the bank’s commitment to infrastructure development across Nigeria and complements other existing sources of long term funding for the Bank. “This is a further indication of the quality and financial standing of our Bank and our belief in the country’s potential to be one of the biggest economies in the world.” He enumerated other record breaking financing transactions by Stanbic IBTC to include the $2 billion facility for MTN Nigeria; the $427 million Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos State and the 225 million syndicated facility to Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc. Stanbic IBTC Bank, as well as its parent, the Standard Bank Group has had a relationship with EIB spanning many years. The current facility, being the second received by Stanbic IBTC from EIB, the first being a $5million five-year facility accessed in 2007.
EIB’s main lending objectives in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions are to reduce poverty and encourage economic growth, in line with the Millennium Development Goals. EIB, last year, invested more than a 79 billion in projects in Europe, Africa and beyond. It had provided more than a 220 million of funding to Nigeria in recent years.