UBA’s Loan Book Shrinks Amid Record-High Interest Rates

The United Bank for Africa saw its loans and advances to customers decline to N6.83 trillion in March from N6.95 trillion at the end of last year amid an interest rate surge that has curbed borrowing.

UBA’s impairment charge for credit losses on loans jumped to N11.12 billion in the first three months of this year from N1.61 billion a year earlier, according to its earnings report released on Wednesday.

Its interest income rose to N597.06 billion from N440.45 billion in the same period of 2024.

Manufacturers in Nigeria said earlier this week that rising interest rates posed a major financial burden, with commercial bank lending rates surging to 35.5 percent in 2024 from 28.06 percent in 2023.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in its economic review for the second half of last year, the rise in borrowing costs was driven by continuous rate hikes by the central bank, which raised the monetary policy rate to 27.50 percent.

“Consequently, manufacturers’ finance costs totalled N1.3 trillion, constraining investment and expansion plans,” Segun Ajayi-Kadir, director-general of MAN, said.