The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released its Credit Conditions Survey Report for the fourth quarter of 2025 on Monday, January 19, 2026.
The Credit Conditions Survey (CCS) is a CBN publication that analyzes lending trends among banks and financial institutions.
It examines current and expected credit availability, demand, and terms for households and businesses.
This quarterly report helps to assess the health of the Nigerian credit market, inform monetary policy decisions, and provide insights into factors like loan approval rates, interest spreads, and borrower risk. This helps the Apex Bank to enact profound macroeconomic policies.
According to the report, in Q4 2025, the spreads on secured and unsecured lending rates to households widened to -10.8 and -2.0, respectively, relative to the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR).
For corporate lending, spreads narrowed for small businesses, large Private Non-Financial Corporations (PNFCs), and Other Financial Corporations (OFCs) at 14.8, 2.9, and 4.3 index points, respectively, while medium PNFCs reported a widening spread at -4.8 index points.
The CBN report revealed that lenders reported higher default rates for secured, unsecured, and all corporate lending types in Q4 2025.
The report covers five areas: the supply of credit, demand for credit, proportion of loan approvals, loan pricing, and loan default.
Supply of Credit
According to the CBN’s report, the lenders indicated a rise in credit availability for secured, unsecured, and corporate lending in Q4 2025.
The report revealed that the increase in credit availability was attributed to the changing economic outlooks and market share objectives for secured and corporate lending. For unsecured credit availability, the main factors affecting the increase in credit were attributed to the changing economic outlook and the changing cost/availability of funds.
Demand for Credit
The report stated that respondents reported that the demand for credit facilities increased for secured, unsecured, and corporate lending.
All the demand for lending types reportedly increased in Q4 2025, except for demand for credit to OFCs, which remained unchanged.
Proportions of Loan Approvals
According to the report, the respondents stated that the percentage of loan approvals in Q4 2025 increased for secured and corporate lending when compared to the previous quarter.
Loan Pricing
As per the report, in Q4 2025, the overall spreads on secured and unsecured lending rates to households in relation to the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) widened at 10.8 and -2.0 points, respectively.
For Corporate lending, spreads on loans relative to MPR narrowed for small businesses, large Private Non-Financial Corporations (PNFCs), and Other Financial Corporations (OFCs) at 14.8, 2.9, and 4.3 index points, respectively. Medium PNFCs widened at -4.8 index points.
Loan Defaults
The secured loan default rate declined from 5.1 index points in Q3 2025 to -2.2 index points in Q4 2025, the unsecured default rate advanced from – 8.6 index points to index points -3.0.
The Small businesses loan default rate appreciated from -7.8 index points in Q3 2025 to -3.9 index points in Q4 2025. The Medium PNFCs rose from -7.8% index points in Q3 2025 to -3.8% index points in Q4 2025.
The large PNFCs increased from -5.5 index points to -6.0, while OFCs were up from -5.5 index points to -6.2 index points.
What You Should Know
The report analysis revealed that the lending conditions improved for secured loans as the default rates dropped significantly. This indicates a healthier repayment environment for collateral-backed debt.
The credit risk intensified for unsecured borrowers, small businesses, and medium-sized corporations, as their default rates rose closer to positive territory.
The large corporations and other financial companies saw a slight improvement in stability. The overall trend suggests a tightening of financial pressure on smaller businesses.
Many individuals, households, and Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMEs) are finding it difficult to repay their loans and bank overdrafts as inflation, the cost of business operations, and the cost of living continue to bite harder.
