The Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal yesterday stated that Nigerian banks are inadvertently stifling the growth of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) with their unusually loan high-interest rates. He, therefore, urged stakeholders in the banking sector to review and reduce their interest rates in order to enhance growth and stability in the economy.
The Governor, who was speaking in Sokoto while receiving Ken Uzoka the Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa, further stated that the prevailing high-interest rates is denying most small businesses access to finance, and by so doing limiting growth.
I want to urge banks in the country, and especially the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to look into this problem because many small and medium scale enterprises have gone under due to lack of access to finance.
The ones that have struggled to stay afloat find it hard to expand. So the banks should look inwards and introduce policies that will, at the end, provide a win-win situation for them and their customers.I am not saying you should give loans that are not sustainable, but within the operating environment, a common ground could be reached that will help to stimulate growth in the economy. -Governor Aminu W. Tambuwal
Governor Aminu Tambuwal also used the opportunity to commend the United Bank for Africa for their corporate excellence and especially, their many CSR engagements in Sokoto State.
He also pledged his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the cordial relationship between the state and UBA continue even as they continue to figure ways to work together for the good of the people.
