World Bank loans in Nigeria rise by $2.19bn in three years

The World Bank loan portfolio in Nigeria increased by $2.19bn in the last three years, investigation has shown.

Data obtained from the Debt Management Office in Abuja on Monday showed that the country’s loan commitment to the bank as of March 31, 2016 stood at $6.72bn.

However, as of March 31, 2019, the loan commitment of the country to the Bretton Woods institution had risen to $8.9bn.

This means that within a period of three years, the World Bank’s commitment to Nigeria rose by $2.19bn, reflecting 32.58 per cent increase.

Much of the loans from the World Bank between March 31, 2016 and March 31, 2019 came from the International Development Association, which is the concessional window of the Bretton Woods institution.

However, the data also showed the increasing recognition of Nigeria as a middle income country, qualifying for commercial loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the commercial window of the bank.

While as of March 31, 2016, IBRD’s commitment of the country stood only at $7.25m while as of March 31, 2019, the commitment had risen to $124.18m, showing an increase of $116.94m, reflecting an increase of 1,613 per cent over the three year period.

The data also showed that World Bank’s proportion of the country’s total debt portfolio had been on the decline.

As of March 31, 2016, the bank’s portfolio as a percentage of the country’s total debt portfolio stood at 60.05 per cent (the total debt portfolio was $11.19bn as of March 31, 2016).

However, as of March 31, 2019, the bank’s percentage of the country’s total debt portfolio was 34.75 per cent (the total debt portfolio of the country as of March 31, 2019 stood at $25.61bn).

The country had in recent years been obtaining more resources from commercial sources as concessional sources had been drying up. This was said to be the reason for the diminishing proportion of Nigeria’s loan from the World Bank.

Source: Punch NG