Private sector credit rose to N75.8 trillion in December 2025, up from N74.63 trillion in November, reflecting a modest rebound in lending activities at the end of the year.
The data was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of its latest monetary and credit statistics.
While the increase points to improving lending momentum, overall credit levels remain below their peak in the corresponding period of the previous year, demonstrating the cautious recovery underway.
What the data is saying
Private sector credit rose by about N1.17 trillion month-on-month in December 2025, signalling a rebound after several months of weakness earlier in the year.
The improvement suggests that recent monetary policy actions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may be gradually influencing lending behaviour within the banking system.
Credit to the private sector increased from N74.63 trillion in November 2025 to N75.8 trillion in December 2025.
Despite the month-on-month gain, the December figure remains below the N78.02 trillion recorded in December 2024, indicating that lending has yet to fully recover to last year’s levels.
Over the course of 2025, private sector credit fluctuated within a broad range of N72 trillion to N78 trillion, reflecting persistent volatility in financial conditions.
Lending opened the year at N77.3 trillion in January 2025 and climbed to a peak of N78.07 trillion in April before entering a sustained decline from May.
The downturn was driven by tight financial conditions, heightened risk aversion by banks, and lingering macroeconomic uncertainties.
Overall, the December increase represents a partial recovery rather than a full reversal of the year’s earlier decline, but it points to renewed momentum following months of uneven credit performance.
Meanwhile, net domestic credit—which measures total lending to both the government and the private sector—rose sharply to N110.05 trillion in December 2025, up from N100.98 trillion in November 2025.
The December figure also reflects a year-on-year increase from N105.16 trillion in December 2024, underscoring sustained growth in domestic lending over the 12-month period.
The steady expansion in net domestic credit suggests increased borrowing activity across the economy, driven largely by higher government financing needs alongside continued, albeit uneven, credit extension to the private sector.
What you should know
In September 2025, the MPC reduced the Monetary Policy Rate by 50 basis points to 27 per cent, signalling a shift toward easing monetary conditions.
- Although the MPC retained the MPR at 27 per cent in November, it adjusted the interest rate corridor to discourage banks from placing excess funds with the CBN.
- Nairametrics earlier reported that Nigeria’s broad money supply (M3) surged to N124.4 trillion in December 2025, up from N122.95 trillion recorded in November.
The increase in money supply is driven by shifts in both the net foreign assets (NFA) and net domestic assets (NDA) of the banking system.
