{"id":29615,"date":"2019-01-31T11:45:17","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T10:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=29615"},"modified":"2019-01-31T11:45:17","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T10:45:17","slug":"zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its business customers.<\/p>\n

The Lagos-based bank is expecting to expand retail loans as a percentage of total credit to about 4 per cent this year from less than 1 percent in 2018, Chief Executive Officer Peter Amangbo said in interview at the bank\u2019s headquarters. It will achieve this by making a bigger push into personal loans, car financing and mortgages, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot we\u2019re doing on revenue,\u201d Amangbo said. \u201cWe expect our retail franchise to grow. Our electronic business, our digital banking is growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zenith is making the shift as a 30 per cent drop in oil prices since October hinders the nation\u2019s main export and foreign-currency earner, damping demand for funding. Nigerian banks are increasingly tapping into digital technology to reach the 50 million unbanked people in a nation of 200 million, while protecting their turf from mobile-phone companies \u2014 which have three times as many customers and are bidding to offer money transfers.<\/p>\n

The company will probably achieve loan growth of 2 per cent to 5 per cent in 2019 after missing its target last year, Amangbo said. Customers\u2019 loans declined by 8 per cent in the nine months through September to 2 trillion naira ($5.5 billion).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t see a very strong growth in the loan book in 2019,\u201d he said. \u201cDemand is still very weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lender plans to pay off a $500 million Eurobond maturing in April and won\u2019t issue a new one due to the limited scope for dollar lending, Amangbo said. \u201cIf the opportunity comes, we will go to the market, but now we will pay off that.\u201d<\/p>

\r\n
Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

Zenith is still trying recover past loans to the oil and gas sector, the CEO said. The industry accounted for 46 percent of non-performing loans in the third quarter of last year, and nearly a third of its total loan book.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there is so much appetite to lend to the oil and gas space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Concerns over a devaluation of the naira are also weighing on lenders\u2019 desire to finance the industry, whose survival is tied to the availability of foreign exchange for raw material imports. Deposits are also not increasing, making funding for lenders expensive in the face of cash reserve ratios of 22.5 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes some time for the economy to reset,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a bank, you\u2019ll want to be cautious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Credit: Bloomberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its business customers. The Lagos-based bank is expecting to expand retail loans as a percentage of total credit to about 4 per cent this year from less than 1 percent in 2018, Chief …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1593,17],"tags":[627],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-29615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-metro","category-news","tag-zenith-bank"],"yoast_head":"\nZenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk - National Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-31T10:45:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/New-Zenith-Boss.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"231\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Friday Ekeoba\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/\",\"name\":\"National Wire\",\"description\":\"About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/New-Zenith-Boss.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/New-Zenith-Boss.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":231},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/\",\"name\":\"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk - National Wire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-31T10:45:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-31T10:45:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927\"},\"description\":\"Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927\",\"name\":\"Friday Ekeoba\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/author\/friday\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk - National Wire","description":"Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk - National Wire","og_description":"Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its","og_url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/","og_site_name":"National Wire","article_published_time":"2019-01-31T10:45:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":231,"url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/New-Zenith-Boss.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Friday Ekeoba","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/","name":"National Wire","description":"About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/New-Zenith-Boss.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/New-Zenith-Boss.jpg","width":400,"height":231},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/","name":"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk - National Wire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2019-01-31T10:45:17+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-31T10:45:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927"},"description":"Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria\u2019s second-biggest lender, is increasing its focus on consumer lending as lower oil prices weigh on the economy, hurting its","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/zenith-bank-eyes-shift-to-retail-loans-on-oil-risk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Zenith Bank Eyes Shift To Retail Loans On Oil Risk"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927","name":"Friday Ekeoba","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/author\/friday\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29616,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29615\/revisions\/29616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29615"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=29615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}