The Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) has called for a reduction in borrowing costs to single-digit levels, warning that high interest rates are putting businesses, particularly credit-dependent enterprises, at risk of failure.

The association’s President, Albert Folorunsho, made the call at the closing of BRIPAN’s 2026 Annual International Insolvency Conference, held in Lagos with the theme, “Building an Insolvency Architecture for a New World Order.”

Folorunsho said the prevailing interest rate environment, despite the recent reduction in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 23 per cent, remained too high for many businesses to sustainably service their debts.

He identified the high cost of borrowing as one of the major factors threatening business viability, particularly for enterprises that rely heavily on bank credit to finance working capital and expansion.

“Most businesses that fail depend so much on borrowing. And when you depend so much on borrowing, the lending rate is impossible to do business with. There’s no way you can continue to borrow money that the business will be able to survive the repayment without failing,” he said.

Folorunsho said BRIPAN would engage the Federal Government and other stakeholders on policies aimed at reducing financing costs, stressing that achieving single-digit borrowing rates remained an aspiration for businesses.

He said the association was also concerned about strengthening mechanisms for rescuing distressed but potentially viable businesses before they become insolvent.

According to him, the conference reviewed the effectiveness of business rescue mechanisms introduced by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, particularly Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA) and administration.

He said the provisions represented a shift from the traditional receivership approach by providing mechanisms through which distressed businesses could be rescued and continue operating as going concerns rather than being allowed to collapse.

“The objective was to examine how it has operated so far. What are the challenges for the implementation? Are there new things that need to be done? What are our members doing in terms of ethics and integrity? How can we implement provisions that help them to do their work in a better way and uphold the ethics of the profession?” he said.

Folorunsho said the conference identified the need for a new code of ethics for insolvency practitioners as one of its key recommendations, adding that BRIPAN had commissioned experts to develop a revised code.

He also stressed the need for stronger collaboration between BRIPAN, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), regulators and other stakeholders to improve the implementation of Nigeria’s business rescue framework.

He said the association would sustain engagements with the CAC and other regulatory authorities through consultations and other collaborative initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s insolvency architecture.

Folorunsho also urged Nigeria to adopt relevant international insolvency instruments to address cross-border insolvency issues, noting that the increasing complexity of international business arrangements had created gaps that required stronger legal and regulatory frameworks.

On the capacity of insolvency practitioners to support distressed businesses, he said BRIPAN currently had more than 2,000 members comprising fellows and associates.

He, however, stressed that practitioners should intervene before businesses reached the point of collapse.

“We are not undertakers; the objective is to rescue a business as a going concern. We don’t expect any business to get to the level of not being able to rescue them before their rescue,” he said.

According to him, the growth in membership would improve access to qualified practitioners, particularly for banks and other lenders requiring professional support in credit documentation and the structuring of lending facilities.

He said insolvency practitioners could also assist lenders in preparing appropriate documentation, including debentures, with provisions that could facilitate the appointment of administrators where necessary under the new insolvency framework.

Folorunsho said BRIPAN would continue to engage the government on policies aimed at improving the business environment, reducing business failures and strengthening mechanisms for rescuing viable enterprises.

At the association’s induction ceremony, 33 fellows and more than 200 members were inducted.

Folorunsho urged the new associates to recognise the profession’s role in promoting economic stability and business confidence, while calling on the newly inducted fellows to provide leadership and mentorship to younger practitioners.