The System of National Development Banks in Nigeria: The Case of the Development Bank of Nigeria

This chapter examines the system of national development banks in Nigeria, with a specific focus on the Development Bank of Nigeria. The Bank was established with the primary mandate to provide credit financing, credit guaranteeing, and technical assistance to the MSME sector. The chapter undertakes an overview of the development finance landscape in Nigeria and explores the Development Bank of Nigeria's financial performance and the achievements and challenges it faces. It reveals a complex network of development financing activities, ranging from financing, leasing, risk-sharing, credit guaranteeing, insurance coverage, refinancing, debt factoring, and technical assistance provision to enterprises across all sectors of the economy under the regulation and supervision of the Central Bank. Unlike the prevalent wholly-owned ownership structure amongst DFIs in Nigeria, the Development Bank of Nigeria is a public limited company with joint ownership and control between the government and other international development partners. The Bank operates a wholesale lending business model under strict corporate governance and risk management regime.