Amid biting hardship, loans taken by Nigerians from banks hit N3.8tr

As Nigerians battle rising inflation and economic hardship, loans taken by Nigerians from banks rose to N3.82 trillion in January.

This was 11.9 percent higher than the N2.64 trillion recorded in December 2023.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) disclosed this in its monthly Economic report posted on its official website on Monday.

On a year-on-year basis, the figure represented an increase of N1.41 trillion from N2.41 trillion recorded in January 2023.

The apex bank noted that retail loans rose by 3.6 percent to N794.79 billion in the period of review.

READ ALSO:Bank loans to private sector hit N43tn

It further indicated that personal loans accounted for 7 for 9.2 percent of consumer credit.

The report read: “Total consumer credit outstanding increased by 11.9 percent to N3.82 trillion in January 2024, driven, mainly, by the rise in personal loans on the back of heightened inflation.

“A disaggregation of consumer credit revealed that personal loans increased by 14.3 percent to N3.028 trillion from N2.648 trillion in December 2023, while retail loans rose by 3.6 percent to N794.79 billion.

“Personal loans accounted for 79.2 percent of consumer credit, while retail loans accounted for 20.8 percent. Consumer credit, as a share of total credit from ODCs, however, declined to 6.6 percent, from 7.7 percent in the preceding month.”

By: Babajide Okeowo

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