Advans-La Fayette Microfinance Bank has secured a national microfinance banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A statement from the bank said it was determined to build on its success over the years.
It said that as a member of the Advans Group, the bank was granted licence as a financial institution by the apex bank in 2012, and started offering a complete range of financial services and means of payment to its customers including savings accounts, current accounts and fixed deposit accounts.
“Now, it has been issued a licence to operate nationally,” it stated.
Over the years, the bank said it had grown to be one of Nigeria’s leading microfinance banks, fully committed to responding to the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other members of the public, who had little or limited access to formal financial services, through provision of tailored financial services in a sustainable and responsible manner.
While speaking on the acquisition of the licence, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Guillaume Valence, stated that micro, small and medium enterprises were the major contributors to growth and economic development, as well as the first employer in Nigeria.
He was worried that they lacked the financial support to develop their businesses.
Valence said, “They still lack both the necessary business and financial support to develop their activities. By supporting this population, Advans-La Fayette MFB is contributing to the national objective to reduce financial exclusion rate to 20 per cent by 2020.
“Moreover, Advans-La Fayette MFB has implemented the international best practices when it comes to client protection principles and contributes significantly to the financial literacy of its clients.”
He added that the bank had demonstrated great resistance and resilience to a challenging economic environment, and had consistently grown its client base and outstanding loan portfolio over the years.
The managing director explained that as of December 2018, the bank had disbursed 63,913 loans for a total of N27.9bn. He also disclosed that the group served more than 900,000 clients and employed over 6,800 employees, with a gross loan portfolio of €880m and a total of €510m deposits.