DBN expects SME lending to surge as more banks sign up

Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) expects loans to small and medium-sized enterprises to surge after the number of banks signing up to disburse the facilities more than doubled.

The state-owned bank, which targets more loans this year, expects lending to SMEs to reach "hundreds of billions of naira" in the coming years, Chief Executive Officer Tony Okpanachi said. DBN signed up 15 banks this year, adding to the seven that joined in 2017.