Nigeria’s broad money supply rose to N114.22tn in March 2025 despite aggressive monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which raised the Cash Reserve Ratio to an unprecedented 50 per cent.
The latest money and credit statistics released by the Apex bank show that the March figure represents a 24 per cent increase when compared to N92.19tn recorded in the same month of 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the figure also rose by 3.2 per cent from N110.71tn in February. The increase was largely driven by a sharp rise in net foreign assets, which rose by 38.9 per cent to N45.17tn, indicating stronger capital inflows and possible revaluation gains.
In contrast, net domestic assets declined by 11.7 per cent to N69.05tn, reflecting tighter liquidity within the domestic financial system.
Despite efforts to curb inflation and control liquidity through the imposition of the highest CRR in the world, Nigeria’s monetary base continued to expand.
The rise in broad money supply likely suggests that external factors—particularly growth in foreign asset holdings and government credit—have offset the CBN’s tightening measures.
