Nigeria’s credit market recorded a notable year-on-year expansion in the first quarter of 2026, averaging 9,611 registered debtors, a 52.2% increase compared to 6,313 in Q1 2025. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s National Collateral Registry shows steady month-on-month growth during the quarter, moving from 7,143 debtors in January to 9,786 in February and peaking at 11,904 in March. Despite this annual uptick, the figure highlights a dramatic 88.5% plunge from the record quarterly average of 83,370 registered debtors in Q4 2025, raising concerns among analysts regarding a growing disconnect between credit growth and long-term financing access.
Individual borrowers continued to drive the majority of market activity, averaging 8,409 registered debtors in Q1 2026 (a 54.1% increase from Q1 2025), rising from 6,190 in January to 10,539 by March. However, this average remains 88% below the Q4 2025 peak of 69,993. Business borrowing reflected a similar pattern of strong year-on-year gains paired with sharp quarterly declines. Large businesses averaged 387 debtors in Q1 2026, up 272% from 104 in Q1 2025, but down 87.3% from 3,051 in Q4 2025. Medium businesses grew 27.2% year-on-year to 594, though dropping 91% from Q4 2025 levels. Micro-business debtors grew 42.4% year-on-year to 47, while small businesses experienced a contraction across both metrics, falling 31% year-on-year to average 174 debtors in Q1 2026, a 93.6% drop from the previous quarter's average of 2,730.
Creditor participation closely mirrored these trends, expanding 52.2% year-on-year to match the 9,611 quarterly average before pulling back sharply from the Q4 2025 peak of 83,370. Microfinance banks maintained their position as the dominant lending channel, growing to 9,297 active creditors by March 2026, while Deposit Money Banks involved in collateralized lending surged from 144 in January to 1,943 in March.
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This lending expansion, supported by monetary easing measures such as the CBN lowering the Monetary Policy Rate to 26.5% in February 2026, remains heavily concentrated in select areas. According to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, service industries absorbed 58.4% of bank credit in H1 2026, followed by oil and gas at 27.8%, while key productive sectors such as manufacturing (8.3%), agriculture (7.1%), construction (4.6%), and real estate (1.6%) received far less support. Financial experts at the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise emphasize that while macroeconomic indicators show gradual recovery, persistent structural headwinds; including elevated interest rates, high energy costs, and infrastructure deficits continue to limit broad-based real-sector investment and MSME expansion.
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