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Banking, insurance and capital markets
Finance and insurance grew 14.54% in 2025, the strongest year in a decade, as banks raised ₦4.65 trillion of new capital.
Banking and finance in numbers
Latest official figures. Shares and growth are in real terms (2019 prices) unless marked nominal.
Growth against the economy
What drives the sector
Interest rates
A high policy rate lifts banks' income from loans and government securities.
Recapitalisation
New minimum capital of ₦500bn for international, ₦200bn for national and ₦50bn for regional banks (CBN, March 2024).
Digital payments
Transfers, cards and agents have widened access and fee income.
Insurance reform
The Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 raised capital requirements for insurers.
Regulators and main players
Central Bank of Nigeria
Monetary policy, bank licensing and supervision, payments.
Securities and Exchange Commission and NGX
Capital market regulation and the stock exchange.
NAICOM
The insurance regulator.
PenCom
Regulates pension fund administrators and the contributory pension scheme.
What to watch
We do not publish forecasts. These are the signals we follow for this sector.
MPC decisions
Policy rate changes feed through to loan and deposit rates.
Credit to the private sector
Monthly CBN money and credit data.
Bank results
Quarterly results show asset quality, capital ratios and profits.
Insurance recapitalisation
Deadlines under the 2025 reform act.
- NBS GDP Q2 2026, reported by Premium Times (31 Aug 2026)
- Top 10 activities by share of real GDP, Q2 2026 (BusinessDay)
- Top 10 fastest-growing activities, Q2 2026 (Nairametrics)
- Top 10 largest activities in 2025, nominal (Nairametrics)
- Finance and insurance in 2025 (Nairametrics, 27 Feb 2026)
- Bank recapitalisation results (ThisDay, 2 Apr 2026)
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