FCMB Group Plc has obtained a $50 million loan from International Finance Corporation to help companies hit with the harsh impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
FCMB disclosed in an emailed statement that the fund is from an $8 billion credit facility launched in March by the World Bank’s private-lending arm to support companies impacted by Covid-19. It will enable FCMB to “support hundreds of businesses with trade financing and working capital loans,” it said.
The lockdown imposed in Nigeria by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus had grounded business to a halt thereby causing profits to plummet. The loan aims to provide liquidity to FCMB customers to remain “viable during and after COVID-19,” IFC said in the statement.
FCMB said in May it plans to restructure half of its loans after the pandemic affected corporate clients and impairment charges surged 61% to 3.7 billion naira ($9.6 million) in the first quarter.
