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The Central Bank of Nigeria recorded a significant decline of N4.145 trillion in net loans and receivables in 2024, driven primarily by a reduction in its overdraft exposure to the Federal Government and changes across other loan categories.
According to the apex bank’s audited financial statements, net loans and receivables at the bank level dropped from N16.122 trillion in 2023 to N11.977 trillion in 2024. At the group level, the figure declined from N15.091 trillion to N10.959 trillion, reflecting a N4.132 trillion drop.
The most substantial adjustment came from the overdraft extended to the Federal Government under the Ways and Means provision.
The Ways and Means provision in Nigeria refers to the CBN’s practice of extending temporary advances to the Federal Government to cover short-term funding gaps. Governed by Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007, this facility allows the government to borrow up to 5 percent of its previous year’s actual revenue.
However, this limit was exceeded under the previous administration, leading to concerns about fiscal discipline and monetary policy implications. In response to the growing concerns over the excessive use of the Ways and Means facility, the National Assembly approved the securitization of N22.7 trillion of these advances in 2023. This move effectively converted the short-term overdrafts into long-term debt instruments, aiming to mitigate inflationary pressures and restore monetary stability.
Also, the Federal Government repaid a part of this obligation, with reports indicating that N7.3 trillion has been paid back so far. This repayment aligns with the government’s commitment to reducing reliance on central bank financing and enhancing fiscal responsibility.
This facility, which stood at N7.948 trillion in 2023, was scaled down to N3.268 trillion in 2024, a sharp reduction of N4.679 trillion or 58.89 percent.
The decline aligns with Governor Yemi Cardoso’s reform stance and a shift away from fiscal dominance, following years of criticism over the central bank’s role in deficit financing.
Report indicate that the CBN’s earnings from the Federal Government’s overdraft facility declined from N1.6 trillion in 2023 to N3.1 billion in 2024. Also notable was a major increase in the CBN’s Standing Lending Facility, which grew from N29.431 billion in 2023 to N386.904 billion in 2024.
The CBN’s SLF serves as a critical tool for managing short-term liquidity within the banking sector. It allows authorized financial institutions to borrow funds from the CBN to address temporary liquidity shortages, ensuring stability in the financial system.
Although relatively small within the total portfolio, the increase indicates renewed activity in the interbank lending space. Long-term loans also rose by N712.673 billion, from N2.009 trillion in 2023 to N2.722 trillion in 2024, suggesting sustained CBN participation in select financing programs with extended maturities. In contrast to intervention-based programs that saw widespread contraction, certain legacy and operational exposures remained stable or expanded slightly. Notably, AMCON Notes rose from N3.902 trillion in 2023 to N4.136 trillion in 2024, an increase of N234.096 billion.
These notes remain a key part of the CBN’s financial system stabilization efforts and are backed by a sinking fund arrangement. The “Other Loans” category, which includes legacy or miscellaneous lending not classified under specific programs, declined marginally at the group level by N8.722 billion, from N539.377 billion to N530.655 billion. At the bank level, however, the line item held steady at N116.187 billion. Staff loans grew from N58.521 billion to N65.644 billion at the group level and from N58.521 billion to N65.194 billion at the bank level, while Nigerian Treasury Bonds remained unchanged at N423 million.
The financial statement also revealed that Promissory Notes previously valued at N23.028 billion were completely cleared by 2024. Similarly, the NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited Debenture, which held a balance of N802.918 billion in 2023, was reduced to zero in 2024. The CBN established the NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited (NESI SS Ltd) as a Special Purpose Vehicle to address liquidity challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. This initiative involved the issuance of debentures to raise funds aimed at settling outstanding payment obligations to market participants, service providers, and gas suppliers.
These loan eliminations further contributed to the sharp drop in the bank’s total gross loans and receivables. Gross loans at the group level declined from N16.391 trillion in 2023 to N12.767 trillion in 2024, a contraction of N3.624 trillion. At the bank level, gross loans fell by N3.645 trillion from N17.422 trillion to N13.778 trillion.
These figures reflect a broad reduction in exposure across lending categories. At the same time, the allowance for Expected Credit Losses increased from N1.3 trillion in 2023 to N1.801 trillion in 2024 at the bank level and from N1.3 trillion to N1.808 trillion at the group level, signaling stricter credit risk recognition and improved provisioning discipline.
It was observed that the CBN recovered a total of N252.996 billion from beneficiaries of its intervention loan programs in 2024, following the decision by Governor Olayemi Cardoso to phase out the Bank’s controversial development finance initiatives. At the bank level, intervention loans fell from N3.336 trillion in 2023 to N3.083 trillion in 2024, marking a year-on-year recovery of N252.996 billion. The group position similarly declined from N1.883 trillion to N1.658 trillion, indicating a recovery of N224.64 billion.
The repayments span across several programs, including the Anchor Borrowers’ Program, Real Sector Support Facility, Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme, BOI Debentures, and other legacy interventions.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Program, which has faced significant public scrutiny due to rising defaults and limited transparency, recorded one of the highest recoveries. Outstanding balances reduced from N424.825 billion in 2023 to N311.903 billion in 2024 at the group level, reflecting a repayment of N112.922 billion. At the bank level, the figure declined from N408.801 billion to N296.830 billion. Originally launched in 2015 to support smallholder farmers by linking them with off-takers, the program has come under criticism from the National Assembly, which recently directed the CBN to recover over N1 trillion disbursed under the scheme, citing poor recovery levels.
The Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme also recorded a sharp drop in outstanding balances, declining from N101.783 billion in 2023 to N58.453 billion in 2024, a recovery of N43.33 billion. The Real Sector Support Facility reduced from N98.237 billion to N60.730 billion within the same period, resulting in a repayment of N37.507 billion. Meanwhile, the BOI Debenture balance dropped by N9.941 billion to N52.055 billion, and the Export Development Facility saw a minor decrease of N802 million to N139.621 billion.
The Non-Oil Export Facility recorded a recovery of N5.855 billion, falling to N8.071 billion. The NIRSAL Lending Debenture, however, saw a slight increase, rising from N268.655 billion to N269.380 billion. The facility remains one of the largest on the CBN’s balance sheet, with repayment efforts still ongoing. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises loans remained largely stable, dipping slightly from N443.652 billion to N442.730 billion. The NBET Payment Assurance Facility recorded a modest decline from N48.317 billion to N44.954 billion, while the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance balance fell by N744 million to N36.855 billion.
The six percent Perpetual Debentures decreased from N4.793 billion to N1.246 billion, indicating a recovery of N3.547 billion. Under the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, the outstanding balance dropped from N4.365 billion to N990 million, amounting to a recovery of N3.375 billion. The Nigerian Youth Investment Fund rose slightly from N95 million to N112 million. The balance for Advances to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria remained unchanged at N9 million. The NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited Debenture, a large-scale intervention in the power sector, was fully cleared, with the loan balance falling from N802.918 billion in 2023 to nil in 2024. Similarly, the NESI Stabilization Strategy Limited Loan declined by N8.461 billion to N368.371 billion.
