President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigeria’s banking sector to channel its expanding capital base directly into the real economy urging lenders to prioritize long-term productive investments over short-term financial returns.
President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerian commercial banks to move beyond celebrating massive profit margins and shareholder payout packages, urging lenders to take on a more active role in financing critical business sectors and supporting national economic growth.
Speaking through the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, at a financial sector conference, the President stated that strong balance sheets and high returns are no longer sufficient benchmarks for evaluating banking success. Instead, financial institutions must rethink their traditional views on credit risk to ensure capital reaches manufacturers, small businesses and productive enterprises.
The administration emphasized that while macroeconomic conditions have stabilized and investor confidence is rising, top-line economic balance does not automatically guarantee everyday prosperity for citizens.
The President noted that a banking system cannot remain resilient in the long term if small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are unable to access affordable credit to expand operations. He added that the true standard for measuring financial sector performance must shift toward real-world outcomes such as lower living costs, job creation, increased household income and reduced poverty across the country.
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Addressing the ongoing bank recapitalization exercise, President Tinubu emphasized that securing larger capital reserves must produce tangible results for the wider economy rather than simply creating larger financial institutions.
Echoing these views, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor for Policy Philip Ikeazor representing the apex bank urged industry operators to deploy their expanded capital bases directly into funding real-sector expansion. Financial stakeholders noted that channeling resources toward productive enterprise will be essential for building a self-sustaining economy, lowering inflation and improving living standards for ordinary Nigerians.
