NIGERIA’S central bank governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, says he will ensure that the apex bank continues to focus on protecting the stability of the banking sector through rigorous supervision in 2026, while ensuring stronger governance across the board.
Speaking at the Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos on Friday, Mr Cardoso said he would pay attention to measures that could support sustainable credit growth, strengthen the banking system, protect depositors, deepen financial stability, modernise payments, and reinforce Nigeria’s economic resilience.
He noted that protecting depositors remained non-negotiable in 2026, reaffirming the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s commitment to delivering ‘durable price stability.’ He said the inflation-targeting framework would be strengthened with advanced analytics to better anchor expectations and lower inflation sustainably. He said that the bank would accelerate payments modernisation and expand financial inclusion by upgrading digital rails and scaling contactless payments across the economy.
On fintech, Mr Cardoso said responsible innovation would remain central to the bank’s agenda in 2026. He explained that while fintech growth would be encouraged, the CBN would prioritise consumer protection, cybersecurity, financial integrity, stronger data governance, stricter licensing, and clearer guardrails for digital-asset experimentation.
He noted that the CBN was boosting internal capacity through staff training, process reform, and the removal of licensing bottlenecks to ensure a more agile institution. He vowed that the banking regulator would deepen collaboration with domestic regulators, industry stakeholders, and international partners to strengthen CBN as a credible and trusted central bank.
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Cardoso reiterated that monetary policy would remain disciplined and firmly anchored on price stability, stressing that resources would be efficiently allocated and purchasing power protected when investments thrived.
He said the CBN would enhance stakeholder engagement, reinforce collaboration with global regulators, provide consistent forward guidance, protect market integrity, and deploy technology and artificial intelligence to improve decision-making.
Cardoso was emphatic that the era of central bank financing of government deficits was over. He said the discontinuation of Ways and Means financing underscored the CBN’s commitment to monetary and fiscal discipline. “There will be no return to the practice of financing fiscal deficits by the central bank,” he insisted. He also noted that fiscal authorities were supporting this stance through reforms such as the Revenue Optimisation Framework, the new National Revenue Agency, and upgrades to the Treasury Single Account.
He highlighted the strong momentum in Nigeria’s digital finance transformation in 2025, driven by innovation and stability within the payments ecosystem. He recalled that the CBN extended its Payment System Vision Roadmap to 2028 to accelerate infrastructure upgrades and strengthen cybersecurity, revealing that more than 12 million contactless payment cards were now in circulation, reflecting rapid adoption. The regulatory sandbox now hosts more than 40 fintech innovators.
On the external sector, Cardoso reported a sharp rebound in foreign-capital inflows, which reached $20.98 billion in the first 10 months of 2025, up 70 percent from total 2024 inflows and 428 percent higher than the $3.9 billion recorded in 2023. He said the current-account balance rose by over 85 percent to $5.28 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, from $2.85 billion in the first quarter (Q1). Foreign reserves increased to $46.7 billion by mid-November, the highest in nearly 7 years, providing more than 10 months of import cover.
Most importantly, he said, the reserves were being rebuilt organically—not by borrowing but through improved market functioning, stronger non-oil exports, and robust capital inflows, he added.
CBN to unveil FX manual
Mr Cardoso further said that the CBN would unveil a revised foreign exchange manual to deepen market participation and further strengthen the naira.
“To strengthen this framework further, we will shortly be unveiling the revised foreign exchange manual to expand market participation, tighten documentation standards, enhance EFMs surveillance and ensure consistency,” he said, revealing that the revised manual would enhance documentation standards, expand participation in the FX market, improve surveillance within the electronic FX management system and guarantee consistency across the board.
