Recession likely ended in June, NBS boss, bankers say

There is likelihood that the economic recession in the country
ended in the second quarter of the year following some improvements
in some sectors of the economy, the Statistician-General and the
Bankers Committee noted yesterday.

Yemi Kale, chief executive officer of the National Bureau of
Statistics told Bloomberg, “Intuitively, we might be getting out of
recession in the second quarter, but I can’t say until all the
numbers are in.”

Kale, said in an interview in his office in Abuja that, “If it
doesn’t happen in the second quarter, it will be a much more
reduced negative, and it will definitely happen in the third
quarter unless we have a new round of shocks in the later
weeks.”

Also at the end of the meeting yesterday, the Bankers Committee
of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other financial institutions
said the economy may have emerged out of recession as far back as
the second quarter of 2017.

Speaking after the meeting, the Director, Banking Supervision of
the CBN, Mr. Ahmed Abdullahi, said “the bankers committee noted the
turnaround in the economy regarding the progress that has been made
in getting the economy out of recession. We have strong belief that
the second quarter of the year may have seen the economy emerging
out of recession.”

He said there are reasons to believe that as the non-oil sectors
witnessed growth although the numbers are not yet out from the
National Bureau of Statistics but the fact that major non-oil
sectors have witnessed positive growth and the growth is driven
largely by the oil sector, then there is this belief that a number
of analysts believe that the economy could have been out of
recession by the second quarter of 2017.”

Abdullahi said: “This is a welcome development because it is
going to have a rob-on effect on the banking sector and other
sectors of the economy generally and the bankers committee
generally expressed its delight with this development in the
economy.

“We await the numbers from the NBS but there is this strong
belief and a number of other reasons as well. If you look at the
confidence in the economy, if you look at the upsurge in the
capital market, stability of the forex market, you will know that a
lot of efforts have been made in getting the economy out of
recession.”

On his part, Managing Director of Union Bank, Mr Emeka Emuwa,
said that the board of the Agric and SMEs Fund had been
inaugurated. The fund has N26 billion in it kitty and the amount is
expected to grow.

There is likelihood that the economic recession in the country
ended in the second quarter of the year following some improvements
in some sectors of the economy, the Statistician-General and the
Bankers Committee noted yesterday.

Yemi Kale, chief executive officer of the National Bureau of
Statistics told Bloomberg, “Intuitively, we might be getting out of
recession in the second quarter, but I can’t say until all the
numbers are in.”

Kale, said in an interview in his office in Abuja that, “If it
doesn’t happen in the second quarter, it will be a much more
reduced negative, and it will definitely happen in the third
quarter unless we have a new round of shocks in the later
weeks.”

Also at the end of the meeting yesterday, the Bankers Committee
of the Central Bank of Nigeria and other financial institutions
said the economy may have emerged out of recession as far back as
the second quarter of 2017.

Speaking after the meeting, the Director, Banking Supervision of
the CBN, Mr. Ahmed Abdullahi, said “the bankers committee noted the
turnaround in the economy regarding the progress that has been made
in getting the economy out of recession. We have strong belief that
the second quarter of the year may have seen the economy emerging
out of recession.”

He said there are reasons to believe that as the non-oil sectors
witnessed growth although the numbers are not yet out from the
National Bureau of Statistics but the fact that major non-oil
sectors have witnessed positive growth and the growth is driven
largely by the oil sector, then there is this belief that a number
of analysts believe that the economy could have been out of
recession by the second quarter of 2017.”

Abdullahi said: “This is a welcome development because it is
going to have a rob-on effect on the banking sector and other
sectors of the economy generally and the bankers committee
generally expressed its delight with this development in the
economy.

“We await the numbers from the NBS but there is this strong
belief and a number of other reasons as well. If you look at the
confidence in the economy, if you look at the upsurge in the
capital market, stability of the forex market, you will know that a
lot of efforts have been made in getting the economy out of
recession.”

On his part, Managing Director of Union Bank, Mr Emeka Emuwa,
said that the board of the Agric and SMEs Fund had been
inaugurated. The fund has N26 billion in it kitty and the amount is
expected to grow.