NIGERIA · BANKING
Key Facts
- —The country Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, and its central bank tracks how much households owe banks.
- —What happened Consumer credit owed by Nigerians rose 1.6% in May 2026 to 3.18 trillion naira (US$2.39 billion).
- —The headline figure Personal loans made up 64.78% of that total, or about 2.06 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion).
- —The catch That sum is a balance owed, not a month’s borrowing; consumer credit grew 50 billion naira (US$38 million) in May.
- —The bigger picture Consumer credit is still below January’s 3.81 trillion naira (US$2.86 billion) after a 20% plunge in February.
- —What it means for you For investors in Nigerian banks, consumer loans remain small next to 59.97 trillion naira (US$45.06 billion) of sector credit.
Nigerians owed about 2.06 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion) in personal loans at the end of May 2026, central bank data show. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) put total consumer credit at 3.18 trillion naira (US$2.39 billion), up 1.6% from April.
Aminiya, the Hausa-language paper of Media Trust, publisher of the Daily Trust, reported the figures on Monday 5 October. The sum is a balance still owed: all consumer credit grew by just 50 billion naira (US$38 million) in May.
What Nigeria’s Central Bank Reported
The figures come from the CBN’s Economic Report for May 2026, a monthly review of the economy. The central bank released it on Thursday 24 September, the Nigerian daily New Telegraph reported.
Consumer credit outstanding rose 1.60% to 3.18 trillion naira (US$2.39 billion) from 3.13 trillion naira (US$2.35 billion) in April, the report said. Both parts grew: personal lending by 1.98% and retail lending by 0.90%.
Personal loans remained the dominant component of consumer credit, at 64.78% of the total, the CBN said. Retail loans, which Punch says include credit tied more directly to buying goods and services, made up 35.22%.
The Nigerian daily Punch turned those shares into naira amounts. That puts personal lending at about 2.06 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion) and retail lending at about 1.12 trillion naira (US$841 million).
Amounts in US dollars use about 1,331 naira to the US dollar on 6 October 2026. Older naira figures are converted at the same rate so they can be compared.
A Balance Owed, Not a Month’s Borrowing
Consumer credit outstanding is a stock: the total that households still owe banks at the end of a month. It is not the amount lent during that month.
Measured that way, the stock of consumer debt grew by about 50 billion naira (US$38 million) in May. The personal-loan balance alone rose by roughly 40 billion naira (US$30 million), Punch calculated.
A balance grows when new loans outpace repayments, and it shrinks when repayments run ahead. The CBN used that reasoning to explain a sharp fall earlier in the year.
How May Compares With Earlier Months
At the end of 2024, Nigerians owed 4.72 trillion naira (US$3.55 billion) in consumer credit. By the end of 2025 that had fallen 19.89% to 3.78 trillion naira (US$2.84 billion).
The CBN’s 2025 Annual Report blamed high interest rates, which raised borrowing costs for households, the Nigerian news site ThisAge reported. Retail loans grew that year while personal lending shrank.
In January 2026, consumer credit edged up 0.79% to 3.81 trillion naira (US$2.86 billion). Personal loans rose 5.95% to 1.96 trillion naira (US$1.47 billion), the CBN’s January report showed.
February brought a plunge. Consumer credit fell 20.48% to 3.03 trillion naira (US$2.28 billion), as retail loans dropped 41.85% and personal loans 0.40%.
The CBN said the fall suggested “the possibility of repayments outpacing new credit extensions.” Since then the total has climbed to 3.13 trillion naira (US$2.35 billion) in April and 3.18 trillion naira (US$2.39 billion) in May.
May’s total is still about 630 billion naira (US$473 million) below January and about a third below the end of 2024. The share of personal loans, however, rose from 51.44% in January to 64.78% in May.
Borrowing to Cope With Rising Costs
The May rise came while business activity was shrinking. The CBN’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, a monthly survey of firms, stood at 49.60 points in May, up from 49.40 in April.
A reading below 50 signals contraction. The CBN blamed subdued demand, falling new orders and high production costs, Punch reported.
Annual inflation rose to 15.93% in May from 15.69% in April, the CBN report noted. It has eased since, as covered in Nigeria Inflation Drops to 15.43 Percent in July 2026.
Loans stayed expensive. The CBN’s money market data put the maximum lending rate at 34.78% in May and the prime lending rate at 19.10%.
By August, those two rates had eased to 29.20% and 17.86%.
A national survey shows why many households borrow. EFInA, a Nigerian financial-inclusion group, found that 40.8% of formal borrowers in 2026 took loans to cope or to cover consumption.
That was up from 31.7% in 2023, while borrowing for business fell from 40.2% to 34.3%. The survey, designed by the National Bureau of Statistics, interviewed 18,679 adults from April to June 2026.
It found that 45.8% of formal-credit users reported some or serious repayment stress.
What It Means for US Readers
For investors in Nigerian bank shares, consumer lending remains a small part of the picture. Total credit to the economy’s sectors was 59.97 trillion naira (US$45.06 billion) in May, the CBN said.
Consumer credit equalled about one-twentieth of that. Growth in personal lending can lift bank earnings, but it brings repayment risk when incomes lag prices.
For US firms selling to Nigerian shoppers, the survey shows more borrowers using credit to get by, not to invest. The EFInA stress figures suggest many borrowers are already stretched.
The data do not signal a lending boom. Consumer credit in May was still smaller than in January and about a third below its end-2024 level.
On Tuesday 22 September the CBN cut its benchmark rate to 23% from 26.5%. Governor Olayemi Cardoso called it “a reset and a recalibration,” not an easing.
Background on that decision is in Nigeria’s Banks Swim in Cash After Sharp Rate Cut, Testing Inflation Fight.
What Is Not Known
The 2.06 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion) figure was calculated by Punch from the CBN’s percentage shares, so it is approximate. The same applies to the 1.12 trillion naira (US$841 million) for retail loans.
It is also unclear whether the recovery since February will hold. The CBN has not yet published its report for June, and the May report came out almost four months after the month ended.
CBN lending-rate data run only to August, so the effect of the September rate cut on loan prices is not yet known. Cardoso has said policy stays restrictive, so cheaper consumer loans are not assured.
Nor is it clear how many borrowers will fall behind. EFInA’s survey found that 83.8% of formal-credit users experience ongoing financial stress.
More: Nigeria news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Nigerians borrow 2.06 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion) in one month?
No. About 2.06 trillion naira (US$1.55 billion) is the balance of personal loans owed at the end of May 2026. Total consumer credit grew by about 50 billion naira (US$38 million) during the month.
What does consumer credit mean in Nigeria’s central bank data?
It is the stock of consumer loans that households owe banks, measured at the end of each month. The CBN splits it into personal loans, 64.78% in May 2026, and retail loans, 35.22%.
Is consumer borrowing in Nigeria rising or falling?
It rose 1.6% in May to 3.18 trillion naira (US$2.39 billion). It remains below January’s 3.81 trillion naira (US$2.86 billion) and the 4.72 trillion naira (US$3.55 billion) owed at the end of 2024.
Why are more Nigerians taking personal loans?
In EFInA’s 2026 survey, 40.8% of formal borrowers took loans to cope or to cover consumption, up from 31.7% in 2023. Inflation was 15.93% in May, and loan rates stayed high.
How expensive are loans in Nigeria?
CBN data put the maximum lending rate at 29.20% and the prime lending rate at 17.86% in August 2026. In May they were 34.78% and 19.10%. The central bank cut its benchmark rate to 23% from 26.5% on 22 September.
Sources: Aminiya (Hausa-language), report on CBN consumer credit data for May 2026, 5 October 2026; Central Bank of Nigeria, May 2026 CBN Economic Report, September 2026; Punch, report on the CBN May 2026 Economic Report (personal loans), 5 October 2026; New Telegraph, report on the CBN May 2026 Economic Report (consumer credit), 25 September 2026; Punch, report on the CBN February 2026 Economic Report (consumer credit), 30 June 2026; Arise News, report on the CBN February 2026 Economic Report (retail lending), 1 July 2026; Business A.M., report on the CBN January 2026 Economic Report (personal loans), 1 June 2026; ThisAge, “Nigeria’s Consumer Credit Declines, Says CBN” (CBN 2025 Annual Report), 29 July 2026; Central Bank of Nigeria, money market indicators (MPR, prime and maximum lending rates), May and August 2026 data, read 6 October 2026; EFInA, A2F 2026 Survey event highlights, September 2026; Punch, “UPDATED: CBN cuts interest rate to 23%, vows to contain election liquidity”, 22 September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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