Economy
CBN slashes FG loans by over N4tn
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The Central Bank of Nigeria recorded a significant decline of N4.145tn in net loans and receivables in 2024, driven primarily by a reduction in its overdraft exposure to the Federal Government and changes across other loan categories.
According to the apex bank’s audited financial statements, net loans and receivables at the bank level dropped from N16.122tn in 2023 to N11.977tn in 2024. At the group level, the figure declined from N15.091tn to N10.959tn, reflecting a N4.132tn drop.
The most substantial adjustment came from the overdraft extended to the Federal Government under the Ways and Means provision.
The Ways and Means provision in Nigeria refers to the CBN’s practice of extending temporary advances to the Federal Government to cover short-term funding gaps. Governed by Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, this facility allows the government to borrow up to 5 per cent of its previous year’s actual revenue.
However, this limit was exceeded under the previous administration, leading to concerns about fiscal discipline and monetary policy implications.
In response to the growing concerns over the excessive use of the Ways and Means facility, the National Assembly approved the securitisation of N22.7tn of these advances in 2023.
This move effectively converted the short-term overdrafts into long-term debt instruments, aiming to mitigate inflationary pressures and restore monetary stability.
Also, the Federal Government repaid a part of this obligation, with reports indicating that N7.3tn has been paid back so far. This repayment aligns with the government’s commitment to reducing reliance on central bank financing and enhancing fiscal responsibility.
This facility, which stood at N7.948tn in 2023, was scaled down to N3.268tn in 2024, a sharp reduction of N4.679tn or 58.89 per cent. The decline aligns with Governor Yemi Cardoso’s reform stance and a shift away from fiscal dominance, following years of criticism over the central bank’s role in deficit financing.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the CBN’s earnings from the Federal Government’s overdraft facility declined from N1.6tn in 2023 to N3.1bn in 2024. Also notable was a major increase in the CBN’s Standing Lending Facility, which grew from N29.431bn in 2023 to N386.904bn in 2024.
The CBN’s SLF serves as a critical tool for managing short-term liquidity within the banking sector. It allows authorised financial institutions to borrow funds from the CBN to address temporary liquidity shortages, ensuring stability in the financial system.
Although relatively small within the total portfolio, the increase indicates renewed activity in the interbank lending space. Long-term loans also rose by N712.673bn, from N2.009tn in 2023 to N2.722tn in 2024, suggesting sustained CBN participation in select financing programmes with extended maturities.
In contrast to intervention-based programmes that saw widespread contraction, certain legacy and operational exposures remained stable or expanded slightly. Notably, AMCON Notes rose from N3.902tn in 2023 to N4.136tn in 2024, an increase of N234.096bn.
These notes remain a key part of the CBN’s financial system stabilisation efforts and are backed by a sinking fund arrangement. The “Other Loans” category, which includes legacy or miscellaneous lending not classified under specific programmes, declined marginally at the group level by N8.722bn, from N539.377bn to N530.655bn.
At the bank level, however, the line item held steady at N116.187bn. Staff loans grew from N58.521bn to N65.644bn at the group level and from N58.521bn to N65.194bn at the bank level, while Nigerian Treasury Bonds remained unchanged at N423m.
The financial statement also revealed that Promissory Notes previously valued at N23.028bn were completely cleared by 2024. Similarly, the NESI Stabilisation Strategy Limited Debenture, which held a balance of N802.918bn in 2023, was reduced to zero in 2024.
The CBN established the NESI Stabilisation Strategy Limited (NESI SS Ltd) as a Special Purpose Vehicle to address liquidity challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
This initiative involved the issuance of debentures to raise funds aimed at settling outstanding payment obligations to market participants, service providers, and gas suppliers.
These loan eliminations further contributed to the sharp drop in the bank’s total gross loans and receivables. Gross loans at the group level declined from N16.391tn in 2023 to N12.767tn in 2024, a contraction of N3.624tn.
At the bank level, gross loans fell by N3.645tn from N17.422tn to N13.778tn. These figures reflect a broad reduction in exposure across lending categories.
At the same time, the allowance for Expected Credit Losses increased from N1.3tn in 2023 to N1.801tn in 2024 at the bank level and from N1.3tn to N1.808tn at the group level, signalling stricter credit risk recognition and improved provisioning discipline.
The PUNCH observed that the CBN recovered a total of N252.996bn from beneficiaries of its intervention loan programmes in 2024, following the decision by Governor Olayemi Cardoso to phase out the Bank’s controversial development finance initiatives.
At the bank level, intervention loans fell from N3.336tn in 2023 to N3.083tn in 2024, marking a year-on-year recovery of N252.996bn. The group position similarly declined from N1.883tn to N1.658tn, indicating a recovery of N224.64bn.
The repayments span across several programmes, including the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Real Sector Support Facility, Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme, BOI Debentures, and other legacy interventions.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, which has faced significant public scrutiny due to rising defaults and limited transparency, recorded one of the highest recoveries. Outstanding balances reduced from N424.825bn in 2023 to N311.903bn in 2024 at the group level, reflecting a repayment of N112.922bn.
At the bank level, the figure declined from N408.801bn to N296.830bn. Originally launched in 2015 to support smallholder farmers by linking them with off-takers, the programme has come under criticism from the National Assembly, which recently directed the CBN to recover over N1tn disbursed under the scheme, citing poor recovery levels.
The Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme also recorded a sharp drop in outstanding balances, declining from N101.783bn in 2023 to N58.453bn in 2024, a recovery of N43.33bn.
The Real Sector Support Facility reduced from N98.237bn to N60.730bn within the same period, resulting in a repayment of N37.507bn. Meanwhile, the BOI Debenture balance dropped by N9.941bn to N52.055bn, and the Export Development Facility saw a minor decrease of N802m to N139.621bn.
The Non-Oil Export Facility recorded a recovery of N5.855bn, falling to N8.071bn. The NIRSAL Lending Debenture, however, saw a slight increase, rising from N268.655bn to N269.380bn.
The facility remains one of the largest on the CBN’s balance sheet, with repayment efforts still ongoing. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises loans remained largely stable, dipping slightly from N443.652bn to N442.730bn.
The NBET Payment Assurance Facility recorded a modest decline from N48.317bn to N44.954bn, while the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance balance fell by N744m to N36.855bn.
The six per cent Perpetual Debentures decreased from N4.793bn to N1.246bn, indicating a recovery of N3.547bn. Under the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, the outstanding balance dropped from N4.365bn to N990m, amounting to a recovery of N3.375bn.
The Nigerian Youth Investment Fund rose slightly from N95m to N112m. The balance for Advances to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria remained unchanged at N9m.
The NESI Stabilisation Strategy Limited Debenture, a large-scale intervention in the power sector, was fully cleared, with the loan balance falling from N802.918bn in 2023 to nil in 2024.
Similarly, the NESI Stabilisation Strategy Limited Loan declined by N8.461bn to N368.371bn.
Cardoso, who assumed office in 2023, had announced a strategic departure from the previous administration’s interventionist finance model, arguing that such practices distorted monetary policy transmission and reduced private sector lending.
Speaking at a press briefing after the first Monetary Policy Committee meeting of 2024, Cardoso said, “The intervention has two dysfunctions. One it takes a lot of time for something you do not have an expertise to do, and two, if not carefully handled, creates a lot of distortions in your economy through inflow of money supply.”
He added, “The interventions that took place in the recent past were estimated in excess of N10tn. I’m not talking about ways or means. What was the budget of the federal government of Nigeria? What was the budget of the largest states in Nigeria? Do the maths and it would tell you the extent of damage too much of what may appear to be good things can do to an economy.
“So, for me, it’s a major issue. A number of things will be naive to say. We’re not going to get directly involved in interventions; those that are out there need to be properly monitored to ensure they come back in.
“We have to ensure that we monitor them to ensure that they come back in, and we’re doing so. We are already doing that and with various degrees of success at some point in time, in the interest of transparency, those figures will be made public.
“The time when we have failed interventions is over. There is no wiggle room to take up interventions that have a great potential to fail and do not get down to the people who were intended to in the first place.”
The 2024 financial statement validates this policy pivot, with significant recoveries suggesting efforts by the apex bank to restore its focus on monetary stability and financial sector discipline.
While the CBN has halted new applications under its intervention schemes, repayments and recoveries remain active. The drawdown of these programmes has continued to generate debate, with stakeholders divided on their legacy.
Supporters maintain that the interventions shielded key sectors during periods of fiscal constraint, while critics argue that inadequate monitoring and weak recovery structures made the programmes vulnerable to abuse and unsustainable over the long term.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS at its retail outlets for the second time in less than two days.
A market survey by DAILY POST showed that NNPCL raised its petrol price to N1,335 per litre on Wednesday from N1,270 per litre on Tuesday.
This means that the state-owned filling station increased its fuel price by N65 per litre.
The new price has been implemented at NNPCL filling stations in Wuse Zone 6 (Berger), Zone 4, and other outlets in Abuja and its environs.
Recall that on Tuesday, NNPCL increased its petrol pump price by N115 per litre to N1,270 per litre.
The latest increase comes amid continued petrol price volatility in the country’s downstream oil sector following Dangote Refinery’s resumption of the sale of refined petroleum products in U.S. dollars.
DAILY POST reports that crude oil prices rose by nearly 4 percent on Wednesday as airstrikes intensified in the Middle East.
The Nigerian Communications Commission has said Africa’s telecommunications regulators must overhaul traditional regulatory approaches to keep pace with rapid technological changes, warning that existing frameworks were no longer adequate for an industry increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, satellite services, cloud computing and digital public infrastructure.
The Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management at the NCC, Rimini Makama, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during the Head of Regulators Roundtable held on the sidelines of the ongoing 7th Ordinary Session of the Conference Preparatory Committee of the African Telecommunications Union.
Makama said the telecommunications landscape had become significantly more complex, requiring regulators to rely on data and market intelligence rather than conventional regulatory methods.
“Our discussion today turns on one question that matters to every regulator in this room. How do we use data and evidence to make decisions that are smarter, more transparent, and more focused on our consumer? Our markets are no longer simple,” she said.
She added, “Broadband is expanding, satellite services are arriving, AI, cloud computing, and digital public infrastructure are reshaping our sector. The old regulatory approaches were built for a simpler time. They are no longer enough.”
According to her, regulators across Africa now possess unprecedented volumes of technical, market and consumer data, but the real challenge lies in converting that information into better regulatory decisions.
“To stay ahead of the problem and not just react to it, we need trusted intelligence,” Makama said.
She explained that because African digital markets were becoming increasingly interconnected, regulators faced similar responsibilities in protecting consumers, promoting competition, attracting investment and strengthening network resilience.
“The challenge is not collecting it. The challenge is turning it into better decisions,” she said.
Makama said the NCC had developed a regulatory intelligence ecosystem that integrates multiple data sources, including quality of service and quality of experience indicators, consumer complaints, compliance analytics and market intelligence to support evidence-based policymaking.
“It brings several data sources into one place, so that our decisions rest on evidence, quality of service, and quality of experience data, consumer complaints, compliance analytics, and market intelligence. We will walk you through some of the recent cases where this intelligence led to real and measurable outcomes,” she said.
She urged regulators across the continent to deepen collaboration by sharing practical experiences and developing trusted approaches to data verification, advanced analytics and consumer-focused regulation.
Makama also challenged participants to examine how regulators could ensure the independence and accuracy of regulatory data, remove barriers to information sharing and measure consumer experience beyond conventional quality-of-service metrics.
Earlier, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said African regulators were increasingly confronted with common challenges despite operating under different legal and institutional frameworks.
According to him, discussions among regulators now routinely revolve around investment, infrastructure resilience, satellite communications, cybersecurity, affordability, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
“We may regulate markets of different sizes, operate under different legal frameworks, and respond to different national priorities. But the realities of our work are often remarkably similar,” Maida said.
He added, “Someone asks, how are things back home? Five minutes later, we are discussing investment, infrastructure resilience, satellite services, cyber security, affordability, artificial intelligence, or the latest technology that has arrived just in time to test the regulatory framework we thought had finally settled.”
Maida said such shared experiences underscored the need for stronger collaboration among African regulators to avoid addressing similar problems independently.
“The challenge that one regulator is trying to solve has already been encountered in one form or another by a colleague elsewhere on the continent. So, the question really is how we make that exchange of experience more deliberate, more systematic, and more useful to our institutions,” he said.
He described the roundtable as an opportunity to strengthen evidence-based regulation by encouraging the use of data, market intelligence and practical experience in policymaking.
Also speaking, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Sunday Oshadami, said the NCC had prioritised transparency by ensuring operators clearly understood regulatory obligations and by making key performance information available to subscribers.
He said the commission had also invested in satellite monitoring capabilities to strengthen oversight of satellite communications and improve regulatory compliance.
According to Oshadami, the commission had established facilities to monitor developments in satellite communications and continued to invest in standard monitoring solutions to support effective regulation as new technologies gain prominence.
The PUNCH earlier reported that stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector on recently backed the Nigerian Communications Commission’s draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators, while urging the regulator to strengthen enforcement to resolve persistent operational and commercial disputes between MVNOs and Mobile Network Operators.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, says Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves has presently risen to 52.52 billion dollars.
Cardoso said this on Tuesday in Abuja, while presenting a communique issued at the end of the 306th meeting of the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he had earlier announced the decision of the MPC to retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.5 per cent.
The committee also retained the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points.
Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks was retained at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent
According to Cardoso, gross external reserves rose to 52.52 billion dollars as of July 17, from 50.47 billion dollars
as at end-May.
He said that the rise was mainly as a result of receipts from crude oil-related taxes and third-party inflows.
“This is sufficient to finance approximately 11 months of imports of goods and services, surpassing the international benchmark of three months cover,” he said.
The CBN governor said that headline inflation (year-on-year) eased marginally to 15.91 per cent in June, from
15.93 per cent in May, ending the three consecutive months of uptick in price levels.
He said that the decline resulted from a decrease in the non-food component which offset the increase
in food inflation.
“Food inflation rose to 17.52 per cent in June, from 16.96 per cent in May, reflecting supply constraints.
“However, core inflation moderated to 15.92 per cent in June, from 16.82 per cent in May, largely on the back of exchange rate stability.
“Similarly, the 12-month average inflation rate sustained its decline to 17.63 per cent in June, from 18.36 per cent in May,’ ‘ he said.
He said that it marked the sixth month of consecutive moderation and reflected a slower pace of price increases over the medium term.’
According to him, on a month-on-month basis, headline inflation declined to 1.66 per cent in June from 1.75 per cent in May, driven by a slowdown in core inflation.
He said that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 4.07 per cent in the preceding period.
“This is largely driven by the resilience of the non-oil sector, which grew by 3.94 per cent, supported by improvements in telecommunications, financial services, trade, transportation, and other services sub-sectors.
“Oil sector GDP growth rate declined to 2.57 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from 6.79 per cent in the fourth quarter
of 2025, due to the maintenance of oil facilities and installations.
“However, recent data showed improvement in economic activities as composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 50.1 index points in June from 49.6 index points in May,” Cardoso said.
He said that output growth was projected to remain resilient into 2026, anchored on the recent improvement in crude oil production, expansionary PMI and the positive impact of timely policy reforms.
“Inflation is projected to moderate further in the medium term on the back of continued stability in the foreign exchange market.
“This will also be due to lagged effect of previous monetary policy tightening and improved food supply conditions as the harvest season approaches,” he said.
He, however, said that the key risk to the outlook remained the severe and prolonged escalation of the
Middle East conflict.
“In the light of these considerations, the MPC reaffirmed its commitment to preserve price and financial system stability.
“The committee remains prepared to take appropriate policy measures guided by evolving macroeconomic conditions,” he said.
NAN
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