Total Private Sector Credit Reaches N700.31trn in 2025
- New data from the CBN showed that Nigerian deposit money banks' credit to the economy has risen
- Oil and gas remained the largest recipient of bank lending, while manufacturing dropped sharply
- Financial services, agriculture, and trade recorded strong credit growth as bank lending improved
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Total credit extended to Nigeria's private sector by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) rose to N700.31 trillion in 2025, reflecting a modest increase of 1.5% from N689.98 trillion recorded in 2024.
The figures were contained in the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin released on its website.
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Breakdown of the figures showed that banks continued to expand lending across key sectors of the economy, with oil and gas retaining its position as the largest recipient of credit.
Credit to the oil and gas sector stood at N147.52 trillion in 2025, accounting for the largest share of total private sector lending. Although the figure represented a marginal decline of 0.9 per cent from N148.82 trillion in 2024, the sector remained the dominant destination for bank financing.
Manufacturing, which ranked second in terms of credit allocation, recorded a sharp contraction. Lending to the sector fell by 20.3 per cent to N88.82 trillion from N111.39 trillion in the previous year, highlighting continued financing challenges facing industrial producers.
In contrast, the financial services sector posted one of the strongest performances during the year. Credit to finance, insurance and capital market activities increased by 30.1 per cent to N99.84 trillion, up from N76.73 trillion in 2024.
The trade sector also attracted higher lending, with credit rising by 4.4 per cent to N50.82 trillion from N48.66 trillion, while agriculture recorded a 26.1 per cent increase to N38.15 trillion, reflecting sustained support for food production and economic diversification efforts.
Government borrowing from deposit money banks rose by 7.2% to N36.19 trillion during the review period.
Similarly, credit to the information and communication sector increased by 4.6 per cent to N23.32 trillion.
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More details on the credit to the economy
Other sectors recorded mixed performances. Transportation and storage received N18.69 trillion in bank credit, up from N17.21 trillion in 2024, while construction lending declined slightly to N26.18 trillion from N27.22 trillion.
Real estate and education recorded notable contractions.
Credit to the real estate sector fell by about 12% to N10.52 trillion, while education lending dropped by 20% to N956.5 billion from N1.2 trillion a year earlier.
A huge increase was recorded under the "Others" category, where lending surged by 195 per cent to N44.86 trillion from N15.21 trillion in 2024, indicating growing miscellaneous credit exposure and possible shifts in loan classification.
Personal loans hit N1.9trn
In a related report, Legit.ng revealed that personal loans issued by Nigerian banks rose to N1.96 trillion in January 2026, accounting for more than half of total consumer credit.
The apex bank also reported that the value of personal loans increased by 5.95% during the period.
Retail lending decreased by 4.15% to N1.85 trillion, which stood for 48.56% of consumer credit.
Source: Legit.ng
