Nairaland Forum

EIB signs $330 million loan deal with 3 Nigerian banks February 10 2010 , 11:00:00



The European Investment Bank (EIB) today signed a 240 million euro ($330 mln) loan deal with three Nigerian banks in what it said was a vote of confidence in banking reforms in sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy.

The EIB, which is owned by EU governments, said the funding for First Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Stanbic IBTC would be used for infrastructure development in Africa's most populous nation.

"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," EIB Vice President Plutarchos Sakellaris said.

"The three banks should be commended for their leadership in governance, transparency and risk management," he said. Nigeria's central bank has made reforming the banking system its top priority following a $4 billion bailout last year of nine institutions found to be so weakly capitalised that they posed a systemic risk.

First Bank, Guaranty Trust and Stanbic all passed the central bank audit.The EIB, the European Union's long-term lending institution, last year invested more than 79 billion euros in projects in Europe, Africa and beyond. It had provided more than 220 million euros of funding to Nigeria in recent years. - Reuters

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