…raises concerns over household spending, manufacturing growth, jobs
Nigeria’s consumer credit market contracted by N939 billion in 2025 as high interest rates, tighter lending conditions and elevated credit risks made it harder and less attractive for households to borrow, raising concerns over consumer spending and the broader economic outlook.
Muda Yusuf, chief executive officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said the decline reflected a financial system that remains poorly structured for mass-market consumer lending, with banks particularly reluctant to extend credit to individuals who lack formal incomes, collateral or easily traceable repayment capacity.
“It’s not that Nigerians don’t like borrowing; it’s the financial system that is not encouraging people to borrow,” Yusuf told BusinessDay.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), consumer credit outstanding fell 19.89 percent to N3.783 trillion in 2025 from N4.722 trillion in the preceding year. The decline was the first
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