Consumer loans rise by 37%, hit N2trn

By Babajide Komolafe

The upward trend in consumer loans persisted as at October last year, rising 37 per cent, year-on-year, YoY, to N2 trillion, driven by improved credit appraisal and products diversifications offered by banks and other lenders. Volume of consumer loans was N1.47 trillion in October 2020.

Financial Vanguard findings from the data by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,  monthly economic report for October, 2021, showed that the growth in consumer loans was driven by a 52 per cent, YoY increase in personal loans, which rose to N1.57 trillion in October 2021. 

Consequently, the share of personal loans in the total consumer loans basket rose to 78 per cent in October 2021 from 70.4 per cent in October 2020.

However, consumer lending, on a month-on-month, MoM, basis, rose by just 3.4 per cent to N2 trillion in October 2021, from N1.94 trillion in September 2021.

According to the CBN data, the continued increase in consumer loans, especially increase in personal loans, is driven by improved credit appraisal and diverse products offered by banks. 

The CBN stated: “Consumer credit outstanding increased, owing to the surge in personal loans arising from an improved credit appraisal and diverse products offering. 

“Total consumer credit extended by the Other Depository Corporations (ODCs) grew by 3.4 per cent to n2,009.88 billion at endOctober 2021, from n1,942.87 billion at end- September 2021. 

“The ratio of consumer credit to the total credit to the private sector in October 2021 was 8.7 per cent, the same share as in the preceding month. 

“A disaggregation of consumer loans revealed that personal loans maintained their dominance, accounting for 78.0 per cent, increasing by 2.3 percentage points, above the level in the preceding month, while retail loans accounted for the balance of 22.0 per cent.”

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