By Matthew Denis
The President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr Pius Deji Olanrewaju, has revealed that net domestic credit to the private sector has climbed above N82 trillion this year, a development that is bolstering businesses and fostering job creation.
Dr Olanrewaju made the disclosure during his opening address at the 18th CIBN Annual Banking and Finance Conference, which took place in Abuja on Tuesday.
Reflecting on commitments made at the previous year’s gathering, he recalled that the Institute had resolved to deepen financial inclusion, advance export diversification, unlock private-sector capital, and tackle the burden of multiple taxation. He explained that collaborations with stakeholders have already produced measurable progress.
Citing examples, he noted that since 2024, sixteen listed banks have raised more than N2.5 trillion in fresh capital to strengthen their balance sheets. He further pointed to the July 2025 launch of the National Credit Guarantee Scheme, designed to reduce risks in SME lending, alongside the expansion of agent banking, with over 500,000 outlets now serving more than 40 million Nigerians.
On export diversification, Dr Olanrewaju reported that Nigeria’s non-oil export basket grew to 236 products in the first half of 2025, up from 202 the year before, generating $3.23 billion in revenue, a 19.6 per cent year-on-year increase.
He also drew attention to reforms addressing the complexity of Nigeria’s tax system. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on 26 June 2025, signed four Tax Reform Bills into law, merging more than 100 tax-collecting agencies into a streamlined Nigeria Revenue Service, effective January 2026. These reforms, he said, open the door to fresh opportunities for both businesses and citizens.
“Our discussions have delivered tangible results, influencing policy, shaping practice, and contributing to economic growth. This is a testament to the power of collaborative dialogue,” he stated.
Turning to this year’s conference theme, “The New Economic Playbook: The Intersection of Banking, Policy, and Technology,” the CIBN President said the sector must craft a new framework that transforms bold ideas into practical outcomes, strengthens public-private partnerships, and channels innovation towards inclusive growth across Nigeria and Africa.
He underscored that banking and finance remain the engine of economic expansion, the mechanism through which savings are transformed into investments, and capital flows to households, enterprises, and governments. Without a dynamic financial sector, he observed, growth would be too sluggish to lift millions out of poverty.
Dr Olanrewaju stressed that policy acts as a compass, setting clear rules, ensuring stable macroeconomic conditions, and creating forward-looking regulations that inspire market confidence. At the same time, he remarked, technology is reshaping the financial landscape, from artificial intelligence driving operational efficiency, to fintech widening access, and digital currencies redefining transactions.
Providing context, he referred to global and regional projections: the IMF expects world growth at 3.0 per cent in 2025, while Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast at 4.0 per cent. Nigeria’s own figures show a mixed outlook, with GDP rising 3.13 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 but inflation still at 21.88 per cent in July, despite easing to a 30-month low. He warned that the traditional approach is inadequate and that a fresh, bold, and innovative strategy is essential.
He likened Nigeria’s economy to the elephant in an ancient parable, vast and complex, viewed differently depending on whether one is a policymaker, banker, technologist, entrepreneur, innovator, or citizen. Each perspective is partial, he said, but a shared playbook can provide the complete picture.
Dr Olanrewaju reflected on the period before May 2023, when Nigeria faced multiple exchange rates, mounting inflation, unmet foreign exchange demand, and dwindling reserves. Since then, reforms have unified the exchange rate, stabilised reserves, improved the current account, and restored fiscal discipline. Debt service now sits below revenue, inflation has eased, and interest rates are moderating as productive capacity grows.
He maintained that the New Economic Playbook allows policymakers and industry leaders to piece these developments together to assess Nigeria’s trajectory.
He pointed to the strong performance of Nigeria’s financial sector as evidence of its potential. The State of Enterprise Report 2025 revealed that total assets in the banking sector surged to N170.02 trillion in 2024, a 39.6 per cent increase from N121.8 trillion in 2023. In addition, Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem attracted over $1.2 billion in funding between 2019 and 2023, cementing its position as Africa’s leader in digital finance.
“These are not just impressive numbers, they are signals of potential,” he said, adding that the next step is to ensure banking, policy, and technology work together, not in isolation, to unlock that potential fully.