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LAGOS – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed a total of N1.69 billion in penalties on financial institutions in 2025 for breaches ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with regulatory directives, signalling a tougher enforcement regime by the apex bank.
Of the total sanctions, N430 million was imposed through 21 penalties specifically linked to complaints management and other consumer-protection infractions, according to the CBN’s 2025 Annual Report.
The report disclosed that the sanctions covered infractions “ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the bank’s directives.”
The development came against the backdrop of growing complaints by users of financial services, with the CBN receiving 23,129 complaints in 2025, representing a 10.53 percent increase over the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024.
The rise in complaints, however, was attributed by the apex bank largely to increased public awareness and growing confidence in its consumer complaint- resolution mechanism rather than a deterioration in the quality of banking services.
The CBN said it successfully resolved 18,824 complaints during the year, up 9.36 percent from the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.
More striking was the sharp increase in the value of claims handled by the regulator, reflecting the growing financial impact of disputes between consumers and financial institutions.
Local currency claims surged to N40.61 billion in 2025 from N17.13 billion in 2024, while foreign currency claims rose dramatically to $344.2 million from just $1.06 million a year earlier.
Following the resolution of the complaints, affected consumers recovered N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, compared with N9.66 billion and $0.67 million recovered in 2024.
The figures underscore the increasing importance of the CBN’s consumer-protection framework as bank customers contend with transaction failures, disputed deductions, excessive charges, delayed reversals, foreign exchange- related issues and other complaints arising from digital and conventional banking services.
Beyond the sanctions tied directly to complaints management, the CBN imposed another 11 penalties totalling N1.26 billion on financial institutions for regulatory breaches and failure to respond to regulatory queries.
This brought the number of penalties imposed under the two categories to 32, with their combined financial value reaching N1.69 billion.
The enforcement drive formed part of a broader overhaul of the CBN’s supervisory and market-conduct framework as the apex bank moved to strengthen compliance, governance, consumer protection and institutional resilience across the financial sector.
The CBN established a dedicated Compliance Department in 2025 to reinforce oversight of financial crime, market conduct, complaints management, advertising standards, cybersecurity, data protection and corporate governance across institutions under its regulatory purview.
The move came as the apex bank intensified efforts to ensure that financial institutions operate within prescribed regulatory standards and respond more promptly to consumer grievances.
CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, had also disclosed that the apex bank and deposit money banks were reviewing excessive transaction alerts and customer charges following complaints from bank users over confusing debit notifications and unexplained deductions.
Cardoso said the CBN had established a quarterly engagement framework involving its consumer protection team, deposit money banks and the top 10 microfinance banks to tackle unresolved complaints and improve the quality of customer service in the financial system.
The CBN’s latest enforcement actions also build on its earlier efforts to institutionalise consumer protection. In 2022, the apex bank issued a guide outlining the process through which aggrieved customers could lodge complaints against financial institutions, including commercial banks.
Meanwhile, consumer protection was only one component of a wider regulatory reform programme undertaken by the CBN in 2025.
The apex bank said it continued to prioritise price stability and financial-system resilience through monetary policy adjustments, foreign exchange market reforms, liquidity management, macroprudential measures and stronger supervisory oversight.
