SunTrust Bank Limited has granted a sum of N23.96 billion as loans and advances to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector of the economy in 2019.
This is part of its commitment to help the growth of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The chairman of SunTrust Bank, Olanrewaju Shittu, at the bank’s fourth annual general meeting, held in Lagos, at the weekend, said, despite the challenges of the year under review, SunTrust Bank was still able to increase its balance sheet by 24.61 per cent from N43.97 billion to N54.79 billion.
The managing director and chief executive of the bank, Halima Buba, reiterated the commitment of the bank to the growth of the nation’s economy through effective funding of the real sector.
According to her, “We are committed to the growth and development of our economy and this can only be done through effective funding of the real sector. As you can see, we increased our loans and advances by 185.41 per cent from N8.4 billion to N23.96 billion.”
She assured that the bank will do more because it is committed to the growth of the real sector, knowing well that, this is the only means to ensure effective growth and development of our nation’s economy.
Delighted that customers have significantly increase their deposit to the bank to the tune of N25.7 billion, an increase of 38.03 per cent, Buba assured that as the bank grows, more funds will be set aside for corporate social responsibility as SunTrust Bank is poised to make people and communities thrive.
“The bank increased the headcount to ensure increased business growth higher than previous year, this amongst other caused increase in customer deposits compared with previous year by 38.03 per cent, from N18.64 billion to N25.73 billion and a growth in the bank’s total assets from N43.97 billion to N54.79 billion,” she pointed out.