Central Bank of Nigeria publishes Q4 2025 Credit Conditions Survey with lenders reporting higher credit supply and demand and rising defaults

The Central Bank of Nigeria has published its Q4 2025 Credit Conditions Survey, summarising lenders’ reported changes in credit supply, demand, loan approvals, pricing and defaults across secured and unsecured household lending and corporate segments. Aggregate results indicate increased credit availability and demand across most lending types in the quarter, alongside higher default rates. Credit availability rose for secured, unsecured and corporate lending, driven mainly by changing economic outlooks and market share objectives for secured and corporate credit, and by changing economic outlooks and the cost or availability of funds for unsecured credit. Demand increased for secured, unsecured and corporate lending, with demand for credit to other financial corporations unchanged; inventory finance (26.2) and capital investments (20.8) were cited as major drivers of higher corporate demand. Loan approval rates increased for secured and corporate lending but declined for unsecured lending, while spreads on secured and unsecured household lending rates relative to the Monetary Policy Rate widened to -10.8 and -2.0 points respectively; corporate spreads relative to the MPR narrowed for small businesses (14.8), large private non-financial corporations (2.9) and other financial corporations (4.3) but widened for medium PNFCs (-4.8). The survey is based on lender responses collected in November 2025 and reported as market share-weighted net percentage balances scaled between -100 and +100, with the report noting that findings reflect respondents’ views rather than the Central Bank’s.