It has been reported that three banks, namely Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Zenith Bank Group, played a significant role in providing financial assistance to state governments…CONTINUE READING....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

According to The Punch, this information was gleaned from an analysis of the financial statements for the first half of 2023 of these three banks.

Access Bank extended the highest amount of loans to state governments over a six-month period, totaling N42.97 billion. Zenith Bank followed with N1.78 billion in loans, and Fidelity Bank provided N1.42 billion in loans during the same period.

In total, these banks loaned approximately N46.17 billion to states for salary payments between January and June 2023.

This development occurred following a slight increase in revenue allocations to states. A comparison of the communiqués issued by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between January and July of 2022 and 2023 revealed a N540 billion increase in the amount allocated to the Federal Government, states, and Local Government Areas.

However, it was noted that around 25 states in Nigeria experienced a decline in their internally generated revenue (IGR) and faced financial challenges in the first quarter of 2023.

These states had projected an IGR of N219.56 billion for the first quarter of 2023 but only generated about N182.26 billion, resulting in a revenue performance of 83.01 percent, indicating an underperformance during the quarter.

According to Access Bank’s H1 2023 financial statement, the outstanding balance on the salary bailout fund had decreased to N58.84 billion by June 30, 2023, from N101.81 billion in December 2022.