The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that personal loans granted by Nigerian deposit money banks reached N1.96 trillion in January 2026, representing more than half of the country's total consumer credit. This information comes from the latest Economic Report published on the CBN website.
Consumer Credit Growth
Total consumer credit increased by 0.79% to N3.81 trillion in January 2026, up from N3.78 trillion in December 2025. The growth was entirely driven by a 5.95% rise in personal lending, which now constitutes 51.44% of total consumer credit. In contrast, retail lending declined by 4.15% to N1.85 trillion, accounting for 48.56% of consumer credit.
Total Credit to the Economy
Overall credit to the economy grew by N90 billion to N57.41 trillion in January 2026 from N57.32 trillion in December 2025. Sectoral breakdown shows agriculture credit rose by N100 billion to N3.81 trillion, services sector credit increased by N150 billion to N32.86 trillion, and industrial sector credit grew by N220 billion to N21.21 trillion. Within services, finance, insurance, and capital markets received the highest allocation at N9.16 trillion, while trade and general commerce attracted N5.54 trillion. Manufacturing received N6.37 trillion, the largest share of industrial lending.
Latest Prime and Maximum Lending Rates
The CBN also released the latest prime and maximum lending rates for Nigerian banks. Prime rates are offered to low-risk customers, while maximum rates apply to higher-risk borrowers.
- Access Bank: Prime 25.50%, Max 32.00%
- Alpha Morgan Bank: Prime 27.00%, Max 33.00%
- Citi Bank: Prime 19.00%, Max 20.00%
- Coronation Merchant Bank: Prime 22.00%, Max 33.00%
- Ecobank: Prime 26.75%, Max 48.00%
- Quest Merchant Bank: Prime 5.00%, Max 32.50%
- FCMB: Prime 31.00%, Max 46.00%
- Fidelity Bank: Prime 30.00%, Max 36.00%
- First Bank of Nigeria: Prime 26.00%, Max 38.00%
- Fsdh Merchant Bank: Prime 25.00%, Max 33.00%
- Globus Bank Ltd: Prime 28.50%, Max 33.00%
- Greenwich Merchant Bank: Prime 23.60%, Max 29.50%
- Guaranty Trust Bank: Prime 21.00%, Max 32.00%
- Keystone Bank Ltd: Prime 30.50%, Max 36.00%
- Nova Bank: Prime 30.00%, Max 19.61%
- Optimus Bank: Prime 28.50%, Max 35.00%
- Parallex Bank: Prime 30.00%, Max 32.50%
- Polaris Bank: Prime 29.00%, Max 39.90%
- Premium Trust Bank: Prime 28.00%, Max 36.00%
- Providus Bank: Prime 26.50%, Max 35.00%
- Rand Merchant Bank Nig. Ltd: Prime 20.00%, Max 20.00%
- Signature Bank: Prime -, Max -
- Stanbic IBTC: Prime 1.00%, Max 60.00%
- Standard Chartered Bank: Prime 27.00%, Max 29.00%
- Sterling Bank: Prime 26.00%, Max 33.50%
- Suntrust Bank: Prime 22.00%, Max 37.00%
- Tatum Bank: Prime 40.63%, Max 45.63%
- United Bank for Africa: Prime 28.50%, Max 32.00%
- Union Bank: Prime 16.95%, Max 38.00%
- Unity Bank: Prime 30.00%, Max 38.00%
- Wema Bank: Prime 32.50%, Max 34.50%
- Zenith Bank: Prime 24.06%, Max 32.00%
Regulatory Developments
Earlier in January 2026, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) announced that 457 companies had secured full approval to operate as digital lenders in Nigeria. Additionally, 35 others received conditional approval, while 103 digital lenders remain under FCCPC monitoring.
