Financial Institutions’ Credit To Private Sector Drops To N77.83trn

Financial institutions’ credit to the private sector declined slightly in the month of May 2025 to N77.83 trillion, this is as it recorded a year on year increase of 4.7 per cent. Latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), showed a decline in credit to private sector when compared to the to N78.08 trillion which it was in April this year

However, when compared to N74.31 trillion which it was in the comparable period of last year, credit to the private sector had risen last month. Also, data by the CBN showed that credit to the government had declined year on year but rose when compared to what it was in April. Year on year, it declined by 11.6 per cent to N25.07 trillion compared to May 2024 figure of N28.38 trillion and rose 4.8 per cent compared to N23.93 trillion in April.

The data showed that Money Supply (M²) reached N118.99 trillion in May 2025, representing a 0.23 per cent month-on-month MoM decline from N119.27 trillion in April 2025. Quasi Money grew by 0.42 per cent MoM to N78.6 trillion in May from N78.27 trillion in April.

Similarly, currency outside banks increased slightly by 0.87 per cent MoM to N4.6 trillion in May from N4.56 trillion in April, while narrow money ( M¹) declined by 1.4 per cent MoM to N40.4 trillion in May from N40.99 trillion in April.

Commenting on the data, analysts at Cordros Research noted that “the pace of growth has slowed significantly relative to the previous year, largely due to the reduced impact of currency depreciation on banks’ foreign-denominated assets, following the recent stabilisation of the naira as well as the CBN’s tight monetary policy.

“We expect CPS growth to remain subdued in the near term, constrained by the prevailing tight monetary policy stance. However, a potential pivot toward monetary easing in the second half of 2025 could provide some support for a gradual recovery in CPS growth over the medium term.