Oil & Gas, power firms bank debts hit N5.85tn

Chinazor Megbolu |The oil and gas and electricity firms bank debts has hit N5.85 trillion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report has shown

The report indicated that as at the end of third quarter, it climbed by N200 billion to N5.85 trillion.

The NBS stated that the N5.85 trillion debt showed a 29.44 per cent of the total exposure of banks to the private sector as of the end of September, 2020, indicating N19.87 trillion.

Meanwhile, the energy companies in the country showed the highest portion of bank loans by the sector, rising from N4.94 trillion in Q2 to N5.12 trillion in Q3, which indicated a N180 billion rise.

The NBS data further showed that the non-performing loans of the oil and gas industry eased by N30.53 billion during the period under review, which declined from N268.79 billion to N238.26 billion.

Furthermore, the NBS date pointed out that credit quality of facilities granted by the banks to the power sector deteriorated, with bad loans rising by 6.17 per cent from N30.81 billion to N32.71 billion.