CBN Moves to Strengthen Nigeria’s Economic Data Architecture, Digitalises Fiscal Survey Across 36 States

• Snate passes bill to bring fintechs, non-bank financial institutions under apex bank’s regulation 

• Access Bank predicts MPC will retain MPR, others at November meeting

Nume Ekeghe, Adedayo Adejobi in Lagos and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is stepping up efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s economic data architecture through the digitalisation of its Sub-National Fiscal Survey, covering the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and 774 local government areas (LGAs).

That was as Senate yesterday passed for Third Reading, a bill meant to strengthen the regulatory oversight of Nigeria’s rapidly expanding financial technology sector. The proposed amendment to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) seeks to empower CBN to designate and regulate systemically important fintech companies and other non-bank financial institutions.

Equally, yesterday, analysts at Access Bank predicted that CBN will retain its benchmark interest rate at 23 per cent at its November Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, as rising crude oil prices and anticipated election-related spending pose fresh risks to the country’s declining inflation rate. The bank in its November 2026 Monetary Policy Committee Decision Preview also projected that MPC would leave other key monetary policy parameters unchanged, despite improving domestic economic indicators.

The move to strengthen Nigeria’s economic data is being implemented through CBN’s Statistics Department is expected to transform the collection and processing of sub-national fiscal information by replacing the largely manual reporting system with a digital platform designed to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and consistency of data used for economic policymaking. The development came as the apex bank strengthened its forward-looking, data-dependent monetary policy framework and moved towards a more explicit inflation-targeting regime. The new regime places greater emphasis on the availability of reliable and timely economic statistics.

Speaking at the Sub-National Fiscal Statistics Stakeholders’ Engagement, held recently in Abeokuta, Director of the Statistics Department, Dr Usman Moses Okpanachi, said the initiative was designed to strengthen the information chain linking fiscal transactions across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and local governments to evidence-based policymaking.

In a statement, Okpanachi reiterated that reliable fiscal statistics were critical to sound economic management, particularly as they enabled governments to assess revenue performance, expenditure patterns, financing needs, and fiscal pressures. According to him, the information would also provide policymakers with a clearer understanding of public-sector activities and their implications for aggregate demand, liquidity, borrowing conditions and inflation.

He stated, “Timely, reliable data have become increasingly important as the CBN strengthens its forward-looking, data-dependent monetary policy framework and moves towards a more explicit inflation-targeting regime.”

Okpanachi said the largely manual, twice-yearly Sub-National Fiscal Survey faced challenges relating to timeliness, logistics, validation and processing.

According to him, “The digitalisation initiative would address these constraints by standardising data entry, improving validation, simplifying submissions, enabling better monitoring and traceable corrections, and supporting the transition to more frequent and sustainable quarterly rendition of returns.”

Okpanachi emphasised that technology would complement, rather than replace, sound record-keeping, proper reconciliation, and professional judgment.

He urged states and local governments to anchor implementation in timeliness, integrity, and continuity by ensuring prompt submission, proper validation and reconciliation of data, and the appointment of designated focal officers to ensure institutional continuity.

He stated that the initiative’s success would ultimately be measured by more complete and consistent returns, faster submissions, improved validation, and better fiscal information for decision-making. He assured stakeholders of the bank’s continued technical and operational support through its branches and the Statistics Department.

CBN stated that the nationwide engagement commenced on October 26, and was expected to cover the remaining states by December 4, with the FCT scheduled for December 9 and 10.

CBN added, “The practical sessions would enable state and local government fiscal officers to use the digital questionnaire, understand validation requirements, and practise submission and correction procedures.

“As of November 6, 2026, 16 states and their local governments had been covered, with strong government support and attendance reaching 100 per cent in almost all the states visited.

“Following the exercise, trained officers are expected to cascade the knowledge within their institutions and begin submitting returns through the digital platform, while the Statistics Department consolidates implementation outcomes into a national report.”

The initiative, part of CBN’s broader data architecture and transformation agenda, is expected to strengthen fiscal data for state and local government planning, budgeting, and policy evaluation, while providing more timely and reliable information for monetary, financial and fiscal policy decisions.   

Senate Passes Bill to Bring Big Fintechs, Non-Bank Financial Institutions Under CBN Regulation  

Senate yesterday passed for Third Reading a bill meant to strengthen the regulatory oversight of Nigeria’s rapidly expanding financial technology sector. The proposed amendment to the BOFIA seeks to empower CBN to designate and regulate systemically important fintech companies and other non-bank financial institutions. The proposed legislation was designed to bring financial institutions whose size, transaction volumes, customer base, and operational interconnectedness could pose risks to the country’s financial stability under enhanced regulatory supervision.

The initiative, which seeks to amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, also provides for stricter corporate governance standards, cybersecurity safeguards, technology-risk management, operational resilience, and greater transparency in the ownership structures of designated institutions.

Chairman of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Mukhail Abiru, presented the committee’s report on the bill during plenary presided by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The bill, SB. 959, is titled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, No. 5 of 2020, to Provide for the Designation, Registration and Enhanced Supervision of Systemically Important Institutions; and for Other Related Matters.” Abiru, who is senator for Lagos East Senatorial District, sponsored the legislation alongside members of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.

The proposed amendment seeks to address emerging vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s financial services industry, particularly the growing influence of large technology-driven financial service providers whose operations have become increasingly interconnected with the traditional banking system.

Under the proposed framework, CBN would be empowered to identify and designate qualifying non-bank financial institutions as Systemically Important Institutions (SIIs), subjecting them to enhanced prudential supervision.

The proposed legislation also seeks to establish clear criteria and regulatory procedures for determining which institutions qualify for the designation.

Beyond conventional financial regulation, the bill seeks to strengthen CBN’s capacity to monitor risks arising from digital financial services, technological disruptions, and operational failures that could have wider implications for the financial system. Among its key provisions are stress testing, data-integrity assessments, enhanced regulatory reporting, and supervisory access to relevant information and operational systems of designated institutions.

It also seeks to strengthen beneficial ownership disclosure and regulatory oversight of ownership and control structures, while providing enforcement mechanisms and sanctions for institutions that violate applicable regulatory requirements.

The committee’s report disclosed that the proposed legislation received broad support from relevant regulatory authorities, government agencies, financial institutions, and professional bodies during a public hearing conducted on March 4.

CBN supported the proposed strengthening of the statutory framework for supervising systemically important non-bank financial institutions. The apex bank specifically highlighted the need for effective, risk-based supervision of large fintech operators. It stated that their transaction volumes, customer bases, and operational interconnectedness could have significant implications for financial stability.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) also supported stronger oversight of systemically important financial service providers. But it emphasised the need to maintain a clear distinction between prudential regulation, competition enforcement, and consumer protection.

The commission urged appropriate coordination between CBN and FCCPC to prevent duplication of regulatory responsibilities and ensure that the proposed framework promoteed fair competition while protecting consumers.

Other institutions that supported the bill included Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Bank of Industry, and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Several banks and other financial institutions also endorsed the proposed amendment.

The committee said the submissions received from stakeholders generally supported the need to strengthen financial stability, encourage responsible digital innovation, improve regulatory coordination, promote operational compliance, and protect users of financial services.

The committee explained that it had adopted a stakeholder-inclusive legislative approach to ensure that the proposed amendment reflected the concerns and recommendations of relevant institutions and members of the public. It said the public hearing was preceded by advertisements in print and electronic media inviting memoranda from stakeholders and other interested members of the public. The public hearing was declared open on behalf of President of the Senate by Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Tahir Munguno.

The committee recalled that Senate passed the bill through Second Reading on Thursday, December 4, 2025, before referring it to the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions for further legislative consideration.

The proposed amendment comes against the backdrop of the rapid expansion of digital financial services in Nigeria, with fintech operators playing increasingly significant roles in payments, transfers and other financial transactions.

The planned regulatory framework is expected to address potential systemic vulnerabilities by ensuring that institutions whose operations could affect the wider financial system are subjected to appropriate supervision, regardless of whether they operate as conventional banks. It also seeks to promote regulatory accountability through the establishment of an official register of designated Systemically Important Institutions.

The proposed legislation underscores the importance of ensuring that technological innovation in the financial services industry does not undermine financial stability, consumer confidence and the integrity of the country’s financial system.

Senate, after the clause by clause consideration of the report at the committee of the whole, subsequently passed the proposed legislation for Third Reading at plenary.     

Access Bank: MPC May Hold Interest Rate at 23%

Meanwhile, analysts at Access Bank predicted that MPC would retain its benchmark interest rate at 23 per cent and also leave other key monetary policy parameters unchanged, despite improving domestic economic indicators. The bank said the decision would reflect the need to consolidate the gains recorded in the fight against inflation and avoid a premature reduction in interest rates that could reverse the disinflation trend.

MPC is scheduled to hold its final meeting of the year on November 23 and 24. According to the report, Nigeria’s headline inflation declined for the fourth consecutive month to 14.63 per cent in September 2026, from 15.39 per cent in August, while real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth accelerated to 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 3.89 per cent in the first quarter. However, Access Bank warned that escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East had pushed crude oil prices higher, creating the possibility of increased domestic fuel, transportation and energy costs that could slow the pace of inflation moderation. It stated that Brent crude rose to $117.64 per barrel in October, its highest level since the September MPC meeting, while Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude climbed to $119.23 per barrel as of October 29, from $95.31 per barrel in early September.

The report explained that higher oil prices could strengthened Nigeria’s export earnings, fiscal revenues, and foreign exchange inflows. However, a sustained increase could also raise production, transportation, and energy costs across the economy, potentially triggering renewed inflationary pressures.

The report added that the approaching 2027 general election could bring increased government spending, injecting additional liquidity into the financial system and putting pressure on prices.

The bank stated, “We, nonetheless, expect the MPC to hold the MPR at 23 per cent and leave all other policy parameters unchanged. Two sources of risk justify this restraint.

“The first is external. Tensions in the Middle East have pushed crude oil prices sharply higher, and a sustained rally would raise domestic fuel and transport costs.

“The second is domestic. The approaching general elections are likely to bring higher fiscal spending, adding to liquidity and price pressures.”

The report also stated that investors might adopt a wait-and-see approach ahead of the elections, potentially slowing portfolio inflows and testing the stability of the exchange rate. The report stated that MPC would also need time to assess the effectiveness of the adjustments it introduced at its September meeting, particularly, the recalibration of the Standing Facilities Corridor to strengthen the transmission of monetary policy to market interest rates.

At the September meeting, the committee retained the MPR at 23 per cent, adjusted the Standing Facilities Corridor to +50/-300 basis points around the policy rate, and maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for deposit money banks at 45 per cent. It also retained CRR for merchant banks at 16 per cent and the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent, while maintaining the 75 per cent CRR on non-Treasury Single Account public-sector deposits.

Nigeria’s external reserves strengthened to $55.22 billion as of October 30, 2026, from $54.81 billion, representing an increase of 0.74 per cent. The report attributed the improvement to stronger oil export earnings, portfolio inflows, diaspora remittances, and improved confidence in the government’s reform agenda. It said the reserves position had strengthened CBN’s capacity to manage exchange-rate pressures and absorb external shocks.