In a decisive crackdown on poor banking services, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) slammed financial institutions with ₦430 million in penalties in 2025 for failing to resolve customer complaints on time and ignoring regulatory directives.
According to the regulator’s newly released 2025 Annual Report, the apex bank issued 21 separate fines during the year as part of a broader push to enforce strict consumer protection across the banking sector.
Beyond customer grievance delays, the CBN levied an additional 11 penalties totaling ₦1.26 billion on institutions for other supervisory breaches and failure to respond to official queries.
The regulatory hammer comes amid a noticeable uptick in customer grievances. The CBN received 23,129 complaints from financial consumers in 2025—a 10.53% increase over the 20,925 cases filed in 2024.
Rather than signaling a decline in banking quality, the central bank attributed the surge to growing public awareness and stronger consumer confidence in its dispute resolution process. Of the cases brought forward, the CBN successfully resolved 18,824 complaints, marking a 9.36% improvement in resolution volume compared to the previous year.
The report also highlighted a massive jump in funds recovered for aggrieved customers:
-
Naira Recoveries: Consumers reclaimed ₦19.12 billion in refunds, nearly doubling the ₦9.66 billion recovered in 2024.
-
Dollar Recoveries: Foreign currency refunds experienced a staggering leap, with consumers recovering $329.3 million in 2025, up from just $0.67 million the previous year.
Total claims submitted by bank users spiked significantly during the review period, with Naira claims climbing to ₦40.61 billion (from ₦17.13 billion in 2024) and foreign currency claims rising to $344.2 million (from $1.06 million in 2024).
The enforcement action forms part of a wider overhaul of the apex bank’s supervisory framework under Governor Olayemi Cardoso.
To protect consumers from predatory practices, the CBN has established a dedicated Compliance Department to oversee financial crime, cybersecurity, market conduct, and advertising standards across all regulated institutions.
Addressing widespread user dissatisfaction over hidden bank deductions, Cardoso noted that the regulator is currently working alongside deposit money banks to review excessive transaction alert fees and ambiguous debit notifications. A quarterly engagement structure involving the CBN’s consumer protection team, commercial banks, and the top 10 microfinance banks has also been instituted to ensure unresolved disputes are systematically cleared.
