CBN reveals loan to FG rose to N23.18trn

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published its financial report for the year ended December 31, 2022, almost two weeks after President Bola Tinubu appointed Jim Obazee, ex-CEO of FRC as special investigator to investigate the bank.

The published report revealed a profit of N65.63 billion for the period while also advancing a N23.18 trillion loan to the Federal Government under Ways and Means.

The bank’s group performance also exhibited a favorable outcome, recording a profit of N103.85 billion during the same year.

According to the bank’s recently released financial report, this level of loan advanced to the Federal Government exceeded the statutory limit by N22.9 trillion.

The Group and Bank’s profits for the year were N103.854 billion and N65.626 billion respectively (2021: N75.125 billion and N31.044 billion respectively).

The consolidated and separate financial statements of the Central Bank of Nigeria (‘the Group’) for the year ended December 31, 2022 were prepared based on accounting policies which are derived from the IFRS Standards, the recommended practices in the guidelines issued by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) titled “Accounting Guideline for Financial Reporting by Central Bank of Nigeria” (“the Guideline”) in February 2018, revised annually for reporting period up to December 31, 2022, the relevant provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act No. 7, 2007 and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act No. 6, 2011.

In line with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2011, 20 percent of the Net Income of the Bank will be credited to retained earnings while the balance will be paid to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The report shows that temporary advance balance of N23.18trillion is an overdraft facility granted by the CBN to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

 

Section 38 of the CBN Act limits the advance that the Bank can grant to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in any year to 5 percent of the actual FGN revenue in the preceding year.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, the FGN recorded a total revenue of N5.045 trillion and 5percent of the fiscal year revenue amounts to a statutory limit of N252.272 billion.