Government Needs To Establish Credit Bureau – Nweze

An Economist, Austin Nweze, has urged the Federal Government to establish a credit bureau to investigate bank debtors.

Mr Nweze, on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said that the country needs a structure beyond the conventional banks but like the venture capital firms that can take up the risks instead of the banks directly.

Talking about the process of creating debts, the Economist said that Nigerian banks are to be blamed for defaults because from the beginning of a transaction, they make it difficult for the lenders to pay back.

“Agreed that the CBN and NPC have the monetary rate, in addition to that, there is also cost that NDIC would also take.

“When they calculate the rate by one or two per cent, cost of management fee and the interest rate moves from 13 per cent to 25 per cent and that is how the banks make profit.”

The Economist stressed that the Nigerian economy would not grow if it keeps pushing monies meant for businesses to the bank.

“Government is the biggest debtor. If government could pay off the domestic dept they owe, it has a way of influencing the economy; the bank will have money, businesses can expand, interest rate can reduce,” he said.

Mr Nweze further said that Government should make a policy that would encourage local industry and manufacturing.

He added, “It is the government policy that makes it easier for people to import than to manufacture.”