Banks increased lending to agriculture, finance and several other sectors by N11.42tn in 2025 despite reducing credit exposure to oil and gas, manufacturing and other key sectors of the economy.
Latest figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that agriculture, finance, government, transportation, power and other sectors recorded significant growth in bank credit during the year.
Agricultural lending rose by 26.4 per cent to N3.61tn from N2.85tn, while the finance, insurance and capital market sector attracted N9.24tn, representing a 19.3 per cent increase from N7.75tn recorded in 2024.
The biggest jump was recorded in the “Others” category, where lending surged by 722.2 per cent to N9.11tn from N1.11tn, accounting for about 70 per cent of the total increase in credit to the growing sectors.
Credit to government also rose by 13.5 per cent to N3.27tn, while lending to the power and energy industry increased by 31.3 per cent to N1.49tn.
Transportation and storage also benefited from higher credit allocation, rising by 18.1 per cent to N1.77tn.
Head of Equity Research at Quest Merchant Bank, Tunde Abioye, linked the strong growth in lending to the finance sector to the prevailing high interest rate environment.
“Credit expansion to finance and insurance reflects the CBN’s tight monetary policy. Banks, pension funds and asset managers have benefited significantly from elevated interest rates, making the sector one of the strongest-performing segments of the economy,” he said.
Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co, Ayokunle Olubunmi, expressed optimism that lending to productive sectors would rebound this year.
“With the completion of banks’ portfolio clean-up and ongoing recapitalisation exercise, we expect a significant increase in lending to critical sectors of the economy in 2026,” Olubunmi said.
Abioye also projected stronger credit growth to sectors with high growth potential, including telecommunications, manufacturing, oil and gas, construction and real estate.
Analysts believe the expected expansion in bank lending could support economic growth as financial institutions complete adjustments triggered by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s withdrawal of regulatory forbearance.
