Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has revealed that credit to Nigeria’s private sector dropped to N72.5 trillion in September 2025.
This marks a decline from N75.9 trillion recorded in August, and is happening despite recent monetary policy easing by the CBN, which is aimed at stimulating lending and business growth.
The latest drop in credit also marks the sixth time this year that lending to businesses and individuals has declined.
The CBN stated credit to the private sector peaked at N78.1 trillion in April 2025, but the downward trend began earlier in the year, with total private sector credit dropping from N77.3 trillion in January to N76.3 trillion in February 2025, signalling the start of a gradual decline that has persisted in subsequent months.
The downward trend persisted in March, with private sector credit falling further to N75.9 trillion. Although there was a brief rebound in April to N78.1 trillion, the recovery proved short-lived as credit levels declined again in May and June 2025.
The CBN did not release data for July 2025.
However, the repeated monthly declines in 2025 raise concerns over potential liquidity constraints, reduced lending appetite by banks, or waning credit demand from the private sector amid tight economic conditions.
While credit to the private sector dropped, credit to the government increased to N24.15 trillion in September, up from N22.95 trillion in August — a jump of over N1.2 trillion within one month, reflecting the government’s continued dependence on domestic borrowing to finance budgetary shortfalls and support public sector obligations amid weak revenue performance.
The CBN has, in recent months, pursued a more accommodative monetary stance, cutting its Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 27 per cent to encourage lending and stimulate growth amid slowing economic recovery.
However, the latest credit data suggests that the impact of these measures is yet to be felt in the real economy.
