Consumer Credit Outstanding in Nigeria Spur by 268.9% to N8.24 Trillion in Three Months

The first quarter 2024 Economic Report published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that consumer credit outstanding in Nigeria rose by 268.9 per cent to N8.24 trillion by the end of March 2024, from N3.42 trillion in December 2023.

Consumer credit outstanding refers to the total amount of money that consumers owe to lenders for purchases made on credit. This includes loans, credit cards, and other forms of consumer financing. It essentially represents the total unpaid debt held by consumers. In simpler terms, it’s the amount of money that consumers still need to pay back to creditors. It also could be personal debt taken on to purchase goods and services, the term is more often used to describe unsecured debt of smaller amounts.

The report also indicated that the surge in consumer credit was primarily driven by a significant rise in both personal and retail loans.

It, however, showed that personal loans constitute the largest portion of consumer credit, rising by 270.4 per cent to N7.52 trillion by the end of March 2024.

Also Read: Consumer Credit Rises YoY to N2.1 Trillion in 2021 — CBN

According to the report, Nigerians borrowed a total of N4.82 trillion from banks between January and March this year.

Retail loans also recorded a significant increase of 253.4 per cent N721.13 billion in the review period.

The debt growth indicates a heightened reliance on credit to manage personal finances, with personal loans accounting for a dominant 91.2% share of total consumer credit.

“As a proportion of total sectoral credit, consumer credit increased to 15.5 per cent, from 7.7 per cent in end-December 2023,” the report stated.