Private-Sector Credit Hits ₦84.55trn As Lending Rises For Third Straight Month

• Private-sector credit rose by ₦1.13trn in August to ₦84.55trn, extending monthly growth since May.

• Credit was 11.4 percent higher than a year earlier, but sectoral data for August are not yet available.

• High interest rates and declining lending to some productive sectors continue to raise questions about the quality of credit growth.

September 21, () – Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose for the third consecutive month in August 2026, reaching ₦84.55 trillion, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The figure increased from ₦83.43 trillion in July, representing a monthly gain of ₦1.13 trillion, or 1.35 percent.

The latest increase extends a steady rise in aggregate private-sector credit since May. Credit rose from ₦81.04 trillion in May to ₦83.26 trillion in June, before reaching ₦83.43 trillion in July and ₦84.55 trillion in August.

Compared with ₦75.88 trillion recorded in August 2025, the latest figure represents an increase of ₦8.67 trillion, or about 11.4 percent, over 12 months.

The data suggest that overall bank lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers is recovering, although the increase does not necessarily mean credit is becoming cheaper or more evenly distributed across the economy.

Sectoral Picture Remains Mixed

The absence of an August sectoral breakdown makes it difficult to determine which industries drove the latest increase.

The CBN’s first-quarter data, however, showed significant differences in credit allocation across major sectors.

Agriculture received ₦3.86 trillion in credit by March 2026, while lending to oil and gas declined from ₦10.91 trillion in January to ₦10.58 trillion in March. Manufacturing credit also fell from ₦6.57 trillion to ₦5.77 trillion over the same period.

Other sectors recorded increases. Credit to power and energy rose from ₦1.30 trillion to ₦1.61 trillion, while real estate lending increased from ₦4.67 trillion to ₦6.29 trillion.

Lending to trade and general commerce also reached ₦6.29 trillion in March, while credit to the finance, insurance and capital market sector stood at ₦9.80 trillion.

The divergent movements show why growth in total private-sector credit cannot by itself establish whether financing conditions are improving across productive sectors.

High Rates Remain A Constraint

The increase in lending is also taking place against a relatively tight monetary policy environment.

At its July 2026 meeting, the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 percent, alongside a 45 percent Cash Reserve Requirement for deposit money banks.

The CBN has nevertheless reported stronger demand for corporate and secured loans in the second quarter, alongside lower default rates across major lending categories.

For businesses, however, the cost of accessing that credit remains a major consideration.

Manufacturing credit, for instance, fell by ₦1.92 trillion between December 2024 and December 2025, according to data previously reported by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

Consumer credit has also weakened. CBN data showed outstanding consumer credit fell by 19.89 percent to ₦3.78 trillion in 2025 from ₦4.72 trillion previously, marking its first annual decline since December 2019.

The latest ₦84.55 trillion figure therefore points to a broader recovery in the volume of private-sector lending, but the composition, cost and destination of that credit will remain important in determining whether the increase translates into stronger investment, production and economic activity.

The CBN maintains a high-frequency statistics database covering monetary and financial data, including credit extended by deposit money banks to economic sectors.