National Collateral Registry (NCR) will boost lending by financial institutions to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by over N1.23 trillion. This was disclosed by Governor Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Given that the inherent risks in granting loans to MSMEs by banks are now reduced tremendously through the introduction of the NCR, small businesses will now be able not only to access credit but also access such at reasonable rates.
According to Emefiele, Nigeria’s quest for inclusive economic growth and development would be futile if the country failed to adequately ease access to finance to MSMEs. He said despite the fact that the MSME sector was vulnerable owing to various challenges, it remained the catalysts of economic growth in Nigeria.
Has NCR been laudable?
A recent survey showed that over 17.5 million MSMEs operated in Nigeria, adding that the sector currently had an estimated financing gap in excess of N48 trillion.
As at January 31, 2019, 628 financial institutions comprising of 21 Deposit Money Banks, four Merchant Banks, one Non-Interest Bank and four Development Finance Institutions have registered on the portal.
Also, 551 Microfinance Banks, 13 Non-Bank Financial Institutions and 34 Finance Companies have registered their institutions on the portal.
Lending institutions have registered interest on movable assets worth N1.23 trillion, $1.1 billion and €6.08 million using 41,408 financing statements by 163,042 borrowers.
About NCR
The National Collateral Registry of Nigeria is an initiative of the CBN with support from IFC to improve access to finance particularly for MSMEs.
The Collateral Registry, which operationalizes Part III of the CBN’s Regulations on Registration of Security Interests in Movable Property by Banks and other Financial Institutions (Regulations No, 1, 2015) is a web-based system that allows lenders to determine any prior security interests, as well as to register their security interests over movable assets provided as collateral.
The Collateral Registry facilitates the use of movable/personal assets as collateral that remain in possession or control of the borrowers and thereby improves access to secured finance.
