Nigerian banks are stepping up efforts to expand consumer lending through partnerships with automobile dealers and electronics retailers, offering customers financing options to acquire vehicles, smartphones, laptops and household appliances.
Access Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), FirstBank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Keystone Bank are among lenders introducing or expanding consumer financing schemes in 2026, reflecting growing interest in retail credit as banks seek to deepen their presence in the consumer market.
The initiatives allow eligible customers to spread the cost of purchases over several months or years rather than pay the full amount upfront.
However, despite the growing number of partnerships, consumer lending remains a relatively small component of Nigerian banks’ loan portfolios, with corporate lending continuing to dominate.
An analysis of nine-month 2026 financial results by Nairametrics shows that retail credit is gradually expanding, although the recently announced financing arrangements have yet to translate into a significant shift in the overall composition of bank lending.
Stanbic IBTC recorded a 16.9 per cent increase in loans to its Personal and Private Banking customers to N250.2 billion from December 2025, raising the segment’s share of gross loans from 8.7 per cent to 9.3 per cent. Mortgage lending nearly doubled to N77.8 billion.
Sterling Bank’s retail loan portfolio also increased by 30.7 per cent to N160.3 billion. However, corporate lending grew at a similar pace, leaving retail loans at approximately 8.4 per cent of its portfolio.
At Access Holdings, loans to individuals stood at N1.88 trillion, representing 12.8 per cent of gross customer loans.
Meanwhile, Zenith Bank, GTCO and First HoldCo did not provide customer-type loan breakdowns in their interim financial statements, limiting comparisons across the industry.
One of the latest developments is Access Bank’s partnership with Stallion Group, announced on November 10, 2026, to make vehicle ownership more accessible.
Under the arrangement, eligible customers can obtain financing covering up to 90 per cent of a vehicle’s purchase price, requiring an initial deposit of just 10 per cent. The facility offers repayment periods exceeding four years.
The initiative builds on the bank’s AutoFest vehicle financing programme introduced in June.
UBA has also partnered with Mikano Motors to offer vehicle financing, requiring customers to provide a 30 per cent deposit while the bank finances the remaining 70 per cent. The facility carries a reported interest rate of 23 per cent, with repayment spread over 36 months.
Stanbic IBTC’s partnership with Carloha Nigeria offers vehicle financing for up to 48 months, while Keystone Bank’s arrangement with Kewalram Nigeria covers conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles, with potential discounts of up to 15 per cent.
Beyond automobiles, banks are increasingly targeting the electronics market.
FirstBank’s October partnership with Pointek allows eligible customers to acquire smartphones, laptops and household appliances through its FirstEase Buy Now, Pay Later platform. Customers can spread payments over six months at a reported interest rate of 3 per cent.
Similarly, Credit Direct, the consumer finance subsidiary of FCMB Group, partnered with smartphone manufacturer vivo in April to finance up to 80 per cent of smartphone purchase costs over six months. The initiative targets more than 200,000 devices within its first year.
These arrangements highlight the growing importance of dealership networks, retail partnerships and specialist consumer finance platforms in expanding access to credit.
