Reuters reports Access Bank has come out to say the recent naira devaluation will not “have a significant impact on its business as most of its dollar facilities have been loaned to clients generating foreign currencies, its chief executive said on Wednesday.” Here is the CEO of Access Bank reporting from South Africa
“It is little or nothing in terms of the implications to my financials just because of where my lending is,” Chief Executive Herbert Wigwe told Reuters in an interview in Johannesburg.
Access Bank, like most Nigerian banks are heavily exposed to the dollar as most obtained subordinated debts earlier in the year in the year to shore up capital. Access Bank has over $500million in dollar denominated loans which is exposed to exchange rate risk due to the recent devaluation. Whilst the bank may have hedged its risk appropriately it is still exposed to exchange rate loss when it values its debts at the end of the financial year.
