The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said on Friday the banking sector gross credit has grown by N2.7trillion in seven months.

Emefiele disclosed this while briefing journalists on the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja.

He said the gross credit in the industry grew by N2trillion between May and December 2019.

He noted that the credit was channeled primarily to the employment-stimulating sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, in addition to increased lending to the retail and Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) segments.

The CBN governor said this is expected to boost domestic output growth in the short to medium term.

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According to him, the Committee further encouraged the management of the bank to be more vigorous in its drive to improve access to credit through its pursuit of the Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR) policy as doing this would help, not only in creating job opportunities.

He added that it would also help in boosting output growth and moderating prices.

Emefiele said: “To retain the gains from credit expansion and current industry focus on lending, the Committee advised the bank to sustain its Lending to Deposit Ratio (LDR) policy and in addition continue to deploy its Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirements (DCRR) policy which directs new funding for greenfield projects and expansion to critical sectors of the economy.” (NAN)

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