Advans-La Fayette Microfinance Bank has secured a national microfinance banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reinforce the successes it recorded over the years.
A member of the Advans Group, La Fayette was licensed as a financial institution by the apex bank in 2012, and it started offering a complete range of financial services and means of payment for its customers.
These include savings accounts, current accounts and fixed deposit accounts; it has now been licenced to operate nationally.
Over the years, the bank has grown to become one of Nigeria’s leading microfinance banks with commitment to responding to the needs for financial services of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
It also caters for other members of the public who have little or limited access to formal financial services through the provision of tailored financial services in a sustainable and responsible manner.
Addressing reporters on the acquisition of the licence, the bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Guillaume Valence, averred that micro, small and medium enterprises are the major contributors to growth and economic development as well as the first employer in Nigeria.
He regretted that they lack the financial support to develop their businesses.
“They still lack the necessary business and financial support to develop their activities. By supporting this population, Advans-La Fayette MFB is contributing to the national objective to reduce financial exclusion rate to 20 per cent by 2020.
“Moreover, Advans-La Fayette MFB has implemented the international best practices when it comes to client protection principles and contributes significantly to the financial literacy of its clients,” Valence said.
He added that bank has demonstrated great resistance and resilience to a challenging economic environment and has consistently grown its client base and outstanding loan portfolio over the years.
Giving a load-down, the bank chief noted that as at last December, the bank had disbursed 63,913 loans amounting to N27.9 billion.
He also said the group served more than 900,000 clients and employed over 6,800 workers with a gross loan portfolio of €880 million and a total of €510 million deposits.
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