LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Stanbic IBTC has cut its 2015 forecast for loan growth to 3 percent from 10 percent, citing the impact of slowing economic activities on businesses, the local unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank said on Monday.

Africa’s biggest economy posted its lowest output growth for five years in August with its economy expanding 2.35 percent in the second quarter against 6.54 percent a year ago. Stanbic said the slowdown continued in the third quarter.

The mid-tier lender said loans grew marginally by 1 percent to 418.3 billion naira ($2.1 billion) in the first nine months and lowered its return on equity (ROE) target to 15 percent from 18 percent, it said in a presentation.

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha, editing by David Evans, Reuters)