E-Financial
Banks Hit by Dollar Restraint, Delay Forex Loan
There were indications yesterday that restriction on the dollar by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is adversely affecting banks in Nigeria, as it has forced a delay of hard currency loan and trade repayments to foreign banks, according to Leadership newspaper.
Leadership newspaper report came as Reuters also reported that the curbs on the dollar is also increasing the risk of defaults.
As a long term measure to encourage local productivity and the strengthening of the naira, the central bank began to impose a strict control on the dollar to stanch the depletion of foreign reserves, which tanked at at $27.82 billion by March 1.
Bankers have insisted they have the capacity to pay what they owe, saying “the delays are understood by both parties to be due to exchange controls”.
While banking sources estimate outstanding LCs at $500 million, the CBN had rationed dollars since oil prices began to fall, selling around $250 million a week, according to bankers.
The central bank met commercial lenders this week to assure them it would sell them foreign currency to repay foreign loans, but told them they needed to pay off matured LCs first before negotiating new ones to prevent a backlog building up, bankers said.
If the amount of delayed repayments gets too big, bankers fear it might become impossible for the central bank to meet dollar demand, which would push the situation from a liquidity crunch to a credit crunch – and ultimately even a default.
“If we have a credit default due to the currency controls, it will affect the entire country and worsen the country risk profile,” another banker said.
Oil revenues have historically accounted for 70 percent of Nigerian government income and 90 percent of its foreign exchange. The oil price collapse has whacked public finances and the currency, which trades on the black market at almost half its official value.
President Muhammadu Buhari had rejected calls to devalue the naira, even though banks are being squeezed harder every day.
Loan growth ground to a halt last year after a 32.5 percent jump in 2014 as the banks’ main clients in the oil sector halted projects or were unable to service loans.
“We will see non-performing loans rise to around 10 percent in 2016 moderated by restructuring and write-offs,” said Akin Majekodunmi, a sub-Saharan Africa banking analyst at Moody’s.
Bad loans had risen above 5 percent at the end of 2015, up from 4.7 percent as of June 2015, he estimated. (Additional reporting by Ulf Laessing; editing by Adrian Croft)
Meanwhile, Interbank lending rate climbed to to an average of 3.5 percent yesterday from a paltry 1 percent last week, after central bank sales of treasury bills and deposits for dollar purchases drained liquidity in the banking system.
Nigeria raised 329.93 billion naira ($1.66 billion) worth of three-month to one-year treasury bills at an auction on Wednesday with higher returns than in its previous auction.
The central bank had also directed commercial lenders on Tuesday to pay for their dollar purchases 48 hours in advance of its Thursday intervention in the official interbank forex market. This step also drained cash from the system and led to a hike in the cost of borrowing among banks.
The central bank usually intervenes once a week in the official interbank foreign exchange market to provide dollars for eligible importers, while it requires commercial lenders to fund its naira account 48 hours ahead of the intervention.
Traders said the central bank offered 50 billion naira in open market operation (OMO) treasury bills on Friday, but the result of the auction was yet to be released.
The total commercial lenders’ credit balance with the central bank stood at 439 billion naira on Thursday compared with 591.76 billion naira last Friday.
Traders said banking system liquidity was expected to decrease further after additional cash outflows to OMO bill purchases and cash reserves requirements are debited from commercial lenders’ accounts.
“The cost of borrowing is expected to spike further on Monday if the central bank sells more treasury bills than it offered at the OMO auction today (Friday) and the CRR debit is reflected in the banking system debt balance,” one trader said.
The interbank rate reflects the level of naira cash liquidity in the banking system.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced the implementation of a fully electronic registration system for capital market operators, marking a major milestone in its digital transformation drive aimed at improving regulatory efficiency, reducing processing time and strengthening oversight of Nigeria’s capital market.
The new electronic registration (e-Registration) platform, deployed through the Commission’s ePortal, allows designated regulatory services to be completed entirely online, eliminating manual processes for services covered in the current phase.
The initiative comes as the SEC intensifies reforms to modernise the Nigerian capital market, enhance the ease of doing business and leverage technology to improve service delivery to market participants.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Commission said Capital Market Operators (CMOs) can now complete designated post-registration processes electronically, from application submission and regulatory review to approvals and the communication of regulatory decisions.
According to the regulator, the platform is designed to simplify interactions between operators and the Commission, reduce administrative bottlenecks, shorten processing timelines and give applicants real-time visibility into the status of their applications.
The SEC said the transition to a fully digital registration process would also improve operational efficiency by introducing standardised workflows, electronic documentation, secure digital record management and stronger audit trails, while enhancing regulatory oversight.
“The new platform represents a major step towards creating a seamless digital regulatory ecosystem that enhances operational efficiency while strengthening regulatory effectiveness,” the Commission stated.
Beyond improving efficiency, the regulator said the platform would reinforce the integrity of regulatory processes by minimising delays associated with paper-based documentation and improving the quality of regulatory data used for supervision and decision-making.
It added that the digital system would provide a stronger foundation for regulatory analytics and future technology-driven innovations aimed at enhancing market oversight.
The Commission explained that the implementation is being rolled out in phases to ensure a smooth transition for market participants while safeguarding the stability and integrity of regulatory processes.
For now, the e-Registration platform is limited to post-registration services for existing Capital Market Operators.
entrants seeking registration in the Nigerian capital market are not yet covered under the current phase, adding that electronic processing for new registrations will be introduced at a later date.
The Commission urged all licensed operators to familiarise themselves with the new platform and comply with implementation timelines to ensure a seamless migration to the digital system.
The latest move forms part of the SEC’s broader reform agenda to modernise market infrastructure, improve transparency and strengthen investor confidence as Nigeria seeks to deepen its capital market and enhance its competitiveness in the global financial system.
Market observers believe the digital registration initiative is expected to reduce compliance costs, improve regulatory turnaround time and support a more efficient operating environment for licensed operators, while reinforcing the Commission’s push towards a technology-driven capital market ecosystem.
Elon Musk’s social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, launched its own bank account-like product where users can send money to one another.
The service, known as X Money, is not a new bank.
X Money is using technology and banking services provided by Cross River Bank, and branding that backbone as X Money.
It is common for new financial companies to use a traditional bank’s backbone to launch its services, as chartering a new bank is a timely and costly process.
Currently X Money is invite only, and users will receive a “X”-branded Visa debit card that is useable at any ATM.
Users of X will be able to send money to other X users in real-time, the company said. Invitations are only available to X’s paying members presently
In order to attract customers, X Money is offering a 6% yield on deposits and 3% cashback on eligible purchases.
In order to earn the 6% yield, a customer would need to deposit at least $1,000 into an account.
Customers would also have to be signed up for X’s premium services, which is at least $8 a month. It would require at least a deposit of $1,600 in order to cover X’s premium services cost.
Musk has long talked about turning X into an “everything app” that would include financial services.
Musk has his origins in financial services, creating one of the first online banks under the brand X.com. That company was later bought and merged into what is now known as PayPal.
It’s still early for X Money, but the company is entering into a competitive market, dominated by PayPal’s Venmo money transfer service and other peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle and Cash App.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed N430 million in penalties on financial institutions in 2025 over delays in resolving customer complaints and failure to comply with its directives, underscoring a tougher regulatory stance on consumer protection in the banking sector.
The sanctions were disclosed in the apex bank’s 2025 Annual Report, which showed that 21 penalties worth N430 million were imposed on financial institutions during the review period for infractions linked to complaints management.
According to Nairametrics, the report stated that the affected institutions were sanctioned for “delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The report read, “the Bank imposed 21 penalties on financial institutions to the tune of N430.00 million, for infractions ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The latest enforcement action comes as the CBN recorded a rise in the number of complaints lodged by users of financial services, suggesting greater reliance on the regulator’s consumer protection framework.
According to the report, the CBN received 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, representing a 10.53% increase from the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024.
The apex bank attributed the increase to growing public awareness and stronger confidence in its complaint resolution process rather than a deterioration in banking services.
The report stated, “The Bank received a total of 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, a rise of 10.53%, above the 20,925 in 2024. The trend reflected increased awareness and improved confidence in the Bank’s consumer complaint resolution process.”
It added that 18,824 complaints were successfully resolved during the year, representing a 9.36% increase from the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.
The report also showed a sharp increase in the value of claims handled by the regulator.
Claims denominated in local currency rose to N40.61 billion in 2025 from N17.13 billion a year earlier, while foreign currency claims climbed to $344.2 million from $1.06 million.
consumers recovered N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, compared with N9.66 billion and $0.67 million refunded in 2024.
Beyond the N430 million sanctions relating to customer complaints, the CBN disclosed that it imposed another 11 penalties worth N1.26 billion on financial institutions for regulatory breaches and failure to respond to regulatory queries.
The report indicates that complaints management formed part of a wider overhaul of the CBN’s supervisory and market conduct framework in 2025.
In 2022, the CBN issued a guide on how aggrieved customers can complain about financial institutions such as commercial banks.
The regulator established a dedicated Compliance Department to strengthen oversight of financial crime, market conduct, complaints management, advertising standards, cybersecurity, data protection and corporate governance across CBN-regulated institutions.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor, CBN, recently said that the CBN and deposit money banks are reviewing excessive transaction alerts and customer charges amid complaints from bank users over confusing debit notifications and deductions.
Cardoso said the apex bank had set up a quarterly engagement structure involving its consumer protection team, deposit money banks and the top 10 microfinance banks to address unresolved customer complaints.
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