The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced that the credit to the Private sector has hit a value of N76.27 Trillion in March 2025
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Recent data released by Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stated that credit to the private sector reached a value of N76.27 trillion. This is a 0.03% marginal increase from February’s value of N76.25 trillion.
Although the credit figure recorded in January 2025 stands at N77.38 trillion, which shows a decline of N1.11 trillion in comparison to March’s figure.
However, this decline can be attributed to a more cautious approach by financial institutions in response to evolving macroeconomic dynamics, including the CBN’s monetary policy tightening, rising interest rates, and inflationary pressures.
Furthermore, CBN stated in the data report that the slow growth in credit to the private sector can also be attributed to the high non-performing loans (NPLs) and an environment that makes it hard for businesses to survive or even thrive.
CBN didn’t release the detailed breakdown of the credit that was disbursed to several recipients, but the global consensus is that the manufacturing, oil and gas, and commerce industries will top the list.
In the Apex Bank’s Economic Report for January 2025, CBN stated, “In terms of sectoral distribution, the services sector maintained the largest share at 54.87 percent, followed by the industry sector at 40.02 percent, while the agriculture sector accounted for 5.11 percent. Notably, the share of the agriculture sector was higher than the 4.82 percent recorded a month earlier.”
Financial and economic experts are suggesting that the decline in credit can only be an issue of demand and supply. They also said that the current MPR at 27.5% set by the CBN has made getting credit much more expensive.
Businesses are increasingly reluctant to borrow due to the high cost of funds, while on the supply side, banks are tightening lending criteria due to perceived credit risks and limited access to long-term funds.
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