HASSAN USMAN Q&A

摘要

Q The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Nigeria's economy will contract by 5.4% in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus and lower oil prices. What are your predictions for the banking sector? A I'd say the main impact of Covid-19 on the banking sector will not be felt immediately in 2020. For sure, activity has slowed down a lot in the past four months or so, but I think that we will not see a very significant decline in banks' balance sheets or perhaps even profitability this year. Nigeria is a mono-economy [that is, reliant on oil revenues] and oil has taken a big hit over the past quarter and beyond. So what's happening in the Nigerian economy is definitely going to affect banks. But I suspect the impact will be felt more in 2021 than in 2020.