Skye Bank Plc is to raise $1.5 billion from international funding agencies for onward lending to its customers in 2011 as a result of rising demand and growing business fortunes of its customers.

The bank’s Head of International Funding Group, Mrs Moji Hunponu-Wusu, who disclosed this at the weekend said the bank raised $500 million for its customers last year.

However, she explained that under the bank’s specialist transactions, a risk management hedging product avails dollar funding to companies with dollar recievables and income and as such are hedged against fluctuations in the rate of the dollar.

According to her, beneficiaries of the facility would have the advantage of single digit interest rate and long repayment period due to the fact such international funds are obtained at low rates.

Hunponu-Wusu said the low cost of funds would translate to an advantage for the enterpreneurs as they would be able to increase output and sell more thereby translating those benefits to the average  Nigerian.

Among businesses financed under the International Funding Group are infrastructure, hotels, vessels and other service industry that get dollar income.

Recently, Skye Bank Plc won the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afrexim)  financial institutions’ award as a foremost promoter and financier of African trade for year 2010.

The Cairo, Egypt based bank recently pronounced Skye Bank winner of the 2010 award in the Silver category of the financial institutions for its “commendable contributions towards the promotion and financing of African trade”.

Skye Bank has been playing an active and frontline role in export financing, granting of credit facilities to African manufacturers as well as providing and maintaining trade information system in support of export business.

The bank has also extended funding support to the oil and gas, telecommunications and the manufacturing sector as part of its contributions to support the growth of the nation’s economy.