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Nigerian banks face N1.69bn penalties as customer complaints rise 11% in 2025
🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Nigerian banks face N1.69bn penalties as customer complaints rise 11% in 2025

From Vanguard · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Bank customers filed 11% more complaints in 2025, totaling 23,129, leading the Central Bank of Nigeria to order N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds.
  • The CBN also imposed N1.69 billion in penalties on financial institutions for regulatory breaches and poor complaint handling.
  • The increase in complaints reflects greater public confidence in the CBN's consumer protection framework, not a decline in banking services.

Bank customers lodged 23,129 complaints against financial institutions in 2025, an 11% increase from the previous year. This surge prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to order refunds totaling N19.12 billion and $329.3 million to affected consumers.

The Bank received a total of 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, a rise of 10.53 per cent above the 20,925 in 2024. The trend reflected increased awareness and improved confidence in the Bank’s consumer complaint resolution process.

— Central Bank of NigeriaExplaining the increase in customer complaints.

The apex bank also levied N1.69 billion in penalties on financial institutions. These penalties were for regulatory breaches, inadequate complaint handling, and non-compliance with CBN directives, according to the bank's 2025 Annual Report.

A total of 18,824 complaints were resolved, indicating a 9.36 per cent increase over the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.

— Central Bank of NigeriaDetailing the resolution rate of complaints.

The CBN attributes the rise in complaints not to a decline in banking services, but to growing public confidence in its consumer protection framework. "The trend reflected increased awareness and improved confidence in the Bank’s consumer complaint resolution process," the report stated. A total of 18,824 complaints were resolved, marking a 9.36% increase from 2024.

Total claims in local currency increased to N40.61 billion from N17.13 billion in 2024. Foreign currency claims also rose, reaching $344.2 million compared with $1.06 million in the preceding year.

— Central Bank of NigeriaReporting on the value of disputed transactions.

Disputed transaction claims saw a significant rise, with local currency claims increasing to N40.61 billion from N17.13 billion in 2024. Foreign currency claims also surged to $344.2 million, up from $1.06 million in the preceding year. The CBN emphasized its strengthened enforcement against financial institutions during the year, imposing penalties for various infractions.

Based on the resolved complaints, the sums of N19.12 billion and $329.3 million were refunded in 2025, compared with N9.66 billion and $0.67 million in 2024.

— Central Bank of NigeriaQuantifying the refunds issued to customers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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