Nigeria’s Money Supply Hits N114tn Despite CBN’s Policy

Nigeria’s broad money supply has increased to N114.22 trillion in March 2025, defying the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy tightening in the last quarter.

This is according to the latest money and credit statistics released by the apex bank for the first quarter of 2025.

The figure represents a 24 percent increase when compared to N92.19 trillion recorded in the same month of 2024, despite the CBN Monetary Policy Committee pegging the country’s Cash Reserve Ratio at 50 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, the figure also rose by 3.2 percent from N110.71 trillion in February.

The increase comes amid a sharp rise in net foreign assets, which rose by 38.9 percent to N45.17 trillion, which portends stronger capital inflows on the back of possible revaluation gains.

Meanwhile, in contrast, net domestic assets declined by 11.7 percent to N69.05 trillion, reflecting tighter liquidity within the domestic financial system.

Despite efforts to reduce inflation, which stood at 24.23 percent in March, and control liquidity through the imposition of the highest CRR in the world, Nigeria’s monetary base continued to surge.

The rise in broad money supply may be due to foreign asset holdings and government credit.

In the first quarter of the year, M3 grew by 2.8 percent, from N111.11 trillion in January to N114.22 trillion in March.