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Financial Services
Bank loans not main funding option for Nigerian MSMEs -PwC
In Nigeria, deposit money banks are required to keep 65% loan to deposit ratio.
New findings contained in the PwC’s MSME Survey 2020 has revealed that Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises do not rely on banks to meet the majority of their funding needs. Instead, they rely on their savings as well as friends and family.
Understanding the situation
For now, access to credit facilities remains one of the biggest challenges facing MSMEs in the country. Information contained in chapter 4 of the 84-paged report revealed that many of the small businesses that participated in the PwC survey resorted to starting their ventures with less than N50,000 initial startup capital.
The report further revealed that only a paltry 4.7% of Nigerian MSMEs start their businesses with more than N300,000 in initial capital costs. As much as 75% of small and medium businesses in the country start their ventures with less than N10 million. However, 6% of MSMEs start with more than N40 million.
READ MORE: IFC invests $100 million in Zenith Bank to support SMEs amid COVID-19
Why bank loans are hard to get
“SMEs usually do not have access to bank loans unlike firms; they mostly rely on their own savings or cash from friends and family. According to The International Finance Corporation (IFC), 40% of formal MSMEs in developing countries, experience a finance shortage of USD5.2 trillion every year. Lending is usually dependent on the stance of the borrower’s financial position, and analysed historical data about the business,” part of the report said.
For the MSMEs interviewed during the survey PwC, bank loans are impossible to get mainly because of their high cost. About half of the respondents (50%) admitted that they did apply for bank loans over the last 12 months, but never ended up taking them due to their high costs. The report also noted that high cost of capital is one of the major costs to business operations in the country.
READ ALSO: CBN’s financial inclusion drive achievable with tech– Expert
Meanwhile, 31% of MSMEs said they applied for bank loans but their applications were rejected. About 10% of the respondents said they applied for bank loans and only got half of what they applied for. Only 10% of the respondents said they were able to access all the loans they applied for.
Commercial banks was the main source bank loans for MSMEs (91.9%) while microfinance banks accounted for only 4.7% of the bank loans to MSMEs. Meanwhile, development banks such as the Bank of Industry (BoI), accounted for only 1% of bank loans to small and medium enterprises, the PwC report said.
“29% of businesses see the high-interest rates on loan as the most important limiting factor to getting funding for
working capital and expansionary activities. 25 percent cite insufficient collateral or guarantees for funding, while 22% point to the current economic conditions as the most important limiting factor,” -PwC MSME Survey 2020
READ MORE: The New Normal – Digital Transfers and Remittance in Nigeria
Recall that in 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had increased the Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) of deposit money banks in the country to 65%. This was in a bid to ensure the adequate provision of funding to the real sector of the economy. Although this directive has yielded a considerable result, the PwC report noted that banks may refuse to lend to the real and accept the punishment that may come with such refusal. This is because of perceived risks in the real sector, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some suggestions for the way forward
In order to improve the chances of MSMEs at securing bank loans, the PwC report suggested the following steps should be followed;
- Proper documentation: Most funding institutions request the cashflow history of businesses being considered for funding. SMEs seeking funding should produce audited financial statements that reveal credible financial information.
- Use of technology for documentation: Companies may use tools such as excel sheets, Power BI, cash flow budget worksheet, and other technologies to make cash flow projections easier and faster, this provides readily available documentation at any given opportunity.
- Financial statements and projections for the business: Financial statements are major requirements when looking to secure a loan, this makes it paramount for firms to keep proper and standard documentation of their transactions.
- Collateral to secure a bank loan: It is important to have a secure, valuable ( as valuable as loan requested) property for use as collateral, with the value of the property remaining valid through the loan period.
READ ALSO: Analysis: Airtel Nigeria is winning where it matters
You may download the full PwC MSME Survey Report by clicking here.
Debt Securities
Interest rates will remain low until the end of H1 2021 – Meristem Securities
Meristem Securities has argued that interest rates will remain low until, at least, the end of H1 2021.
Meristem Securities has asserted that interest rates will remain low until, at least, the end of H1 2021.
This statement was made at the recently held webinar on Global Economy and Outlook, which the company themed: Bracing for a Different Future.
Although the company acknowledged that there is mounting pressure for upward movement in yields from several stakeholders, it appears the company concurs nothing concrete is in sight.
This line of reasoning seems to have influenced their decision to advise investors to move away from Treasury instruments.
What they are saying
Meristem advises that:
- “Buy and hold strategy investors seeking to generate above average returns should move away from risk free Treasury instruments and focus on investment grade commercial papers and bonds which satisfy investment objectives.”
- “Active traders with higher risk appetite are advised to focus on high-yield short duration instruments, which would be re-invested into a higher yield environment should rate reversals occur.”
The advice regarding shunning Treasury instruments appears to be in order, considering that treasury bill rate has been declining, with the latest figure — November 2020 — 0.03% as per the CBN monthly interest rate data.
Further checks from the Debt Management Office website, indicates that the latest figures for Eurobonds and Diaspora bond fall short of the fixed yield at issue for all the different categories of bonds in issue.
What you should know
Latest figures from the CBN’s monthly interest rate indicate that:
- Treasury bill rate has been on a steady decline for six months, down to 0.03% since the last rise (2.47%) in May 2020.
- Fixed deposit rates (one, three, six and twelve months) have also been declining – the latest figures for these indicate that in November 2020, one-month deposit rate was 1.92%, 2.9% for three months, 2.84% for six months, and 4.89% for 12 months.
- Compared with the corresponding period in 2019, the figures indicate that these rates fell by 75%, 66%, 71% and 49% respectively.
Financial Services
CBN issues framework for QR payments
CBN has issued a framework that would guide Quick response (QR) code payments in Nigeria.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued the framework that would guide Quick Response (QR) Code Payments in Nigeria.
This is a proactive move by the Apex bank towards ensuring the safety and stability of the Nigerian Financial System, as well as promoting the use and adoption of electronic payments and foster innovation in the payments system.
READ: Over 1 million people took loans from banks below 20% interest rate in 1 year- CBN
Quick Response (QR) Codes are matrix barcodes representing information presented as square grids, made up of black squares against a contrasting background that can be scanned by an imaging device, processed and transmitted by appropriate technology.
The codes are used to present, capture and transmit payments information across payments infrastructure and further enable the mobile channel to facilitate payments and present another avenue for promoting electronic payments for micro and small enterprises.
READ: Binance offers DeFi coders $100,000; DeFi market value hits $8 billion
What you should know
- Quick Response (QR) codes are two-dimensional bar codes. QR code payments allow merchants to receive payments from customers simply by scanning generated QR codes using a smartphone camera. The QR code payments carry the purchase transaction information to the mobile device of the buyer/customer.
- Making payments via QR codes is very secure. It is because the QR code is nothing but just a tool that is used to exchange information. Any data which is transferred via QR codes is encrypted, thus making the payment secure.
- The Participants in QR Code Payment in Nigeria include Merchants, Customers, Issuers (Banks, MMOs and Other Financial Institutions), Acquirers (Banks, MMOs and Other Financial Institutions) and Payments Service Providers.
- QR payments are increasingly becoming a popular means of payments in Nigeria, and some industry players would see the framework as a perfect way of regulating the sector.
- QR codes are capable of storing lots of data. But no matter how much they contain, when scanned, the QR code should allow the user to access information instantly. It can be used for payments, sharing contacts and Wi-Fi passwords and lots more.
- The popular and common argument is that since POS machines are expensive, cheaper options such as QR scanners should be pushed forward to local traders.
READ: Telecoms, FSI to hugely boost Nigerian Economy in 2021 – CWG’s Business Director
Financial Services
CBN unveils framework for regulatory sandbox operations
CBN has issued a regulatory Sandbox framework towards engaging with the operators in the Fintech space.
