The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has disclosed that eight deposit money banks have already surpassed the new minimum capital requirement under the ongoing recapitalisation exercise.
Cardoso made the announcement on Tuesday in Abuja during a press briefing following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, where the apex bank also retained all key monetary policy parameters.
The Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) remains unchanged at 27.5%, with the asymmetric corridor around the MPR kept at +500/-100 basis points. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for deposit money banks remains at 15%, and the liquidity ratio is held steady at 30%.
In a related development, Mustapha Akinkunmi, a member of the MPC, revealed that at least 11 commercial banks had exceeded the CBN’s regulatory ceiling for non-performing loans (NPLs) as of April 2025. This indicates growing credit risk within the financial system.
Akinkunmi’s disclosure was made in his personal statement published after the 300th MPC meeting held in May.
The mixed signals from the financial sector show progress in recapitalisation efforts, while also underscoring the need for banks to tighten risk controls amid rising loan defaults.
