Banks operating in Nigeria recorded a combined $16.78 billion in capital inflows between January and September 2025.
The figure represents a 131.81% increase compared to the $7.236 billion recorded during the same period in 2024, as foreign investors poured money into FPIs.
This is according to the latest Capital Importation (Q3 2025) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The capital importation report shows about 97% of total capital flows entered foreign portfolio investments, with only 3.3% in foreign direct investments.
This suggests the banks were used as a source of transferring the funds rather than being the final beneficiary of the proceeds.
What the data is saying
The report shows that capital importation in Q3 2025 stood at $6.01 billion, a sharp 380.16% increase from the $1.252 billion recorded in Q3 2024.
- In Q2 2025, total inflows reached $5.120 billion, up 96.60% from $2.60 billion in Q2 2024.
- Earlier in the year, Q1 2025 capital importation rose to $5.64 billion, marking a 67.12% increase compared to $3.38 billion recorded in Q1 2024.
- Together, these quarterly performances pushed total inflows for the first nine months of 2025 to $16.774 billion, reflecting renewed investor confidence and a significant recovery in foreign capital flows.
- Only $590 million of the total capital importation went into Equity Investments and $13.6 billion into bonds and money market investments.
In November 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed at the 60th Annual Bankers’ Dinner that Nigeria recorded $20.98 billion in foreign capital inflows within the first ten months of 2025.
According to him, the figure represented a 70% increase over total inflows recorded in 2024 and a 428% jump from the $3.9 billion posted in 2023, underscoring a resurgence in investor confidence.
- “Foreign capital inflows reached US$20.98 billion in the first ten months of 2025, a 70% increase over total inflows for 2024 and a 428% surge compared to the US$3.9 billion recorded in 2023, reflecting a clear resurgence in investor confidence,” Cardoso said at the time
More insights
In Q3 2025, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited received the highest share of capital inflows at $2.115 billion, accounting for 35.17% of the total.
- Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc followed with $1.789 billion (29.75%).
Other banks recorded the following inflows during the quarter:
- Citibank Nigeria Limited: $561.40 million (9.33%)
- Access Bank Plc: $385.03 million (6.40%)
- Rand Merchant Bank: $306.92 million (5.10%)
- Ecobank Nigeria Plc: $299.91 million (4.99%)
- First Bank of Nigeria Plc: $254.29 million (4.23%)
- Zenith Bank Plc: $94.89 million (1.58%)
- Guaranty Trust Bank Plc: $80.12 million
- Fidelity Bank Plc: $56.25 million
Sectoral data show that the banking sector attracted the largest share of inflows in Q3 2025, receiving $3.142 billion, or 52.25% of total capital imported.
This was followed by:
- Financing sector: $1.855 billion (30.85%)
- Production/Manufacturing sector: $261.35 million (4.35%)
In terms of source countries, the United Kingdom accounted for the largest share with $2.935 billion (48.80%), followed by the United States with $950.47 million (15.80%) and the Republic of South Africa with $773.95 million (12.87%).
What you should know
Standard Chartered, Stanbic IBTC, and Citibank continued to dominate as the preferred channels for foreign capital inflows.
In Q1 2025 alone, the three banks accounted for about 80% of total capital imported into Nigeria, highlighting their central role in facilitating foreign investment.
The sustained growth in capital importation across the first three quarters of 2025 signals stronger investor appetite, although the composition of inflows remains a key factor in assessing long-term sustainability.
