Domestic investors accounted for slightly more than 20 per cent of the N4.65tn raised by Nigerian banks under the recapitalisation exercise, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has said.
Cardoso disclosed this on Saturday during a briefing at the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group in Bangkok, Thailand.
The CBN governor said the contribution of domestic investors reflected confidence in the banking sector’s resilience and long-term prospects, although he did not provide a breakdown of the amount raised from local and foreign investors.
The capital raised is part of efforts to strengthen banks’ financial capacity and position them to support lending, investment and economic activity.
Cardoso also highlighted improvements in Nigeria’s macroeconomic indicators, saying the country’s external reserves had risen above $55 billion, their highest level in 18 years, while formal remittance inflows were approaching $1bn monthly.
Headline inflation declined to 14.63 per cent in September, while the CBN reduced the monetary policy rate by 350 basis points, from 26.5 per cent to 23 per cent that month. The governor said the country’s sovereign outlook had also improved, citing Fitch Ratings’ revision of Nigeria’s outlook from stable to positive.
