Nigeria's Credit Market Sees 52% Year-on-Year Debtor Increase in Q1 2026

Nigeria's credit market registered an average of 9,611 debtors in the first quarter of 2026, marking a significant 52.2% year-on-year increase. However, this figure represents a stark 88.5% decrease compared to the average recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, prompting concerns among analysts about the accessibility of financing for business expansion and investment.

Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria's Quarterly Statistics, sourced from the National Collateral Registry, indicates that registered debtors rose from an average of 6,313 in Q1 2025 to 9,611 in Q1 2026. This year-on-year improvement was primarily driven by individuals and businesses. The total number of registered debtors climbed from 7,143 in January to 11,904 in March 2026.

Despite the year-on-year growth, the Q1 2026 figures represent a sharp reversal from the extraordinary surge seen in Q4 2025, when monthly registrations peaked. Individual debtors averaged 8,409 in Q1 2026, a 54.1% increase from the Q1 2025 average of 5,458. The number of individual debtors in March 2026 was 77.1% higher than in March 2025. Yet, this Q1 2026 average was 88% below the 69,993 individual debtors recorded on average in Q4 2025.

Business debtors also showed increases compared to Q1 2025, though numbers remained considerably lower than in the final quarter of 2025. Large-business debtors averaged 387 in Q1 2026, a 272% increase from Q1 2025, but an 87.3% decline from the Q4 2025 average. Medium-business debtors averaged 594, up 27.2% year-on-year, but down 91% from Q4 2025. Small-business debtors, however, declined by 31% compared to Q1 2025, and micro-business debtors saw a 42.4% increase year-on-year.