Banks’ deposits rise 670% to N83.95trn

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•As borrowings drop

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By Elizabeth Adegbesan

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Banks’ deposits in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Standing Deposit Facility, SDF, recorded a sharp increase by 670.2 percent year-on-year (YoY) to N83.95 trillion in July 2026 from N10.9 trillion in July 2025.

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On the other hand banks’ borrowing from the apex bank’s Standing Lending (SLF) fell by 82 percent YoY to N1.19 trillion in July 2026 from N6.63 trillion in July 2025.

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These were contained in the CBN’s latest financial data released yesterday.

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The CBN accepts deposits from banks through its SDF, while it has two short term lending windows for banks; the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) and Repo lending.

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It lends money to banks through the SLF at interest rate of 500 bases points (bps) above the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), and it also lends money to banks through Repurchase (Repo) arrangement, which involves the purchase of banks’ securities with the agreement to sell back at a specific date and usually for a higher price.

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Both the sharp rise in banks’ deposits and the decline in the borrowing reflect higher liquidity in the banking system.

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Recall that the apex bank recently retained the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, at 26.5 percent, the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50bps/-450bps, the Cash Reserve Ratio, CRR, for commercial banks at 45 percent, the CRR of merchant banks at 16 percent and the 75 percent CRR on Non-TSA public sector deposits.

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The retention of these positions by the CBN signaled that the apex bank is sustaining its inflation targeting policy by tight monetary measures.

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