BOI, NAICOM collaborate to safeguard MSMEs loans

The Acting Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr Waheed Olagunju, has said the bank would collaborate with insurance companies to insure and protect loans given to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Olagunju, who made this known while fielding questions from newsmen at the sidelines of the 2016 National Insurance Conference titled “Expanding National Resources and Infrastructure in Challenging Times’’ on Monday in Abuja, said that the collaboration was aimed at expanding BOI’s lending to enable MSMEs to meet the bank’s conditions in securing loans due to challenges of collateral.

He explained that it was part of efforts to expand its lending operations that the bank increased its branch offices from seven to 17 across the country.

“What we are trying to do now is to see how insurance companies can insure and protect the loans that we grant to MSMEs such that these MSMEs will pay premiums to insurance companies.

“And, this will secure the loans that we have granted to them; so, that is what we are doing with NAICOM but in doing so, we want to be mindful of the health of the various insurance companies.

“We will be working with NAICOM to ensure that we are dealing with insurance companies that can share risks with BOI effectively and efficiently.

“It is not only in terms of facilities that we lend, we are also talking about assets that we finance; they need to be insured against fire, theft and natural disasters,’’ Olagunju said.

On the number of insurance companies that would be involved in the collaboration, he said that the bank had listed 10 firms capable of accessing finance across the country.

Olagunju said that the bank was doing all it could to improve its rating, adding that no progress could be made in Nigeria without proper infrastructure.

On his part, Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, said that the commission would support BOI’s efforts in ensuring that its loans to MSMEs were properly covered and protected.

“We, in the long run are hoping that the industry will be able to contribute to the funds that the bank will be using to loan out to MSMEs,’’ Kari said.

He added that the commission hoped to issue guidelines that would encourage insurance companies to invest in BOI as soon as better understanding was reached.