Non-Performing Loans (NPL) of banks declined by 3.5 per cent in Q3, compared to its position in Q2 this year, the latest Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report has indicated.
The report, which was unveiled on Monday, showed that the NPL for the construction sector grew by 66.6 per cent to N 86.40 billion.
On the other hand, the total volume of NPL stock in banks decreased to N1.169 trillion in the third quarter, representing a 3.5 per cent dip when compared to the second quarter value of N1.212 trillion.
A NPL is a loan in which the borrower is in default and has not made any schedule for the payment of the principal or interest for over a certain period of time.
According to the report, the general commerce sector achieved the highest dip of 12.79 per cent in the NPL, moving from N171.55 billion in Q2 to N149.60 billion in Q3, followed by the oil and gas sector that decreased to N238.26 billion in Q3 from N268.79 billion in Q2, a dip of 11.36.
The highest surge in the NPL volume was contributed by the transportation and storage sector with 26.87 per cent, with the NPL volume increasing to N46.99 billion in Q3 from N37.04 billion in Q2, trailed by the power and energy sector with 6.17 per cent, moving from N30.81 billion in Q2 to N32.71 billion in Q3.
Also yesterday, Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr. Yemi Kale, announced a two-week extension for the 2020 National Business Sample Census (NBSC).
Kale announced the extension while fielding questions from reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the National Consultative Committee on Statistics (NCCS) in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.
The NBSC, which started on October 12 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), was supposed to end on December 12.
Its aim is to compile, frame and develop instruments and concepts, establish standards and methodology for industrial and business surveys.
He said that the extension was necessary to fully capture businesses in states that the exercise was delayed in, due to the #ENDSARS protests in October.
Kale said: “We had an initial slow period, it was supposed to start at about the time the #ENDSARS protest happened and it disrupted the progress, so we had a few states that were shut down or had curfews imposed.
”Because of that we are about a week or two delay, we should have finished yesterday but we have to extend it by a number of days in some states.
“In some other states, we have already finished the work and we have gotten a few millions of records of businesses already in our system.
“I believe it is an extremely successful exercise,” the statistician-General said.
Kale said that for the first time in many years, Nigeria would have a clear idea of businesses operating across it.
He explained: “That is the whole point of data, without that we are just guessing sector wise. But when we know what businesses are operating, where they are, their sizes and how many people are employed, you can imagine the amount of information for policy makers to take the right decisions to boost businesses and further diversify the economy.”
