The Central Bank of Nigeria imposed N430 million in penalties on financial institutions in 2025 for failing to resolve customer complaints promptly and for breaching its regulatory directives, highlighting a stricter approach to consumer protection in the banking sector.

According to the CBN’s 2025 Annual Report, the apex bank issued 21 sanctions totaling N430 million during the year against financial institutions for violations related to complaints handling and non-compliance with its consumer protection requirements.

The report stated that the affected institutions were sanctioned for “delays in resolving customer complaints and failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”

The report read, “the Bank imposed 21 penalties on financial institutions to the tune of N430.00 million, for infractions ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”

The enforcement action comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria recorded an increase in complaints from users of financial services, indicating growing reliance on the regulator’s consumer protection framework.

According to the report, the CBN received 23,129 consumer complaints in 2025, a 10.53 per cent increase from the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024.

The apex bank attributed the increase to heightened public awareness of its consumer protection mechanisms and growing confidence in its complaint resolution process, rather than a decline in the quality of banking services.

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

The CBN said it successfully resolved 18,824 complaints in 2025, representing a 9.36 per cent increase from the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.

The report also showed a significant rise in the value of claims handled by the regulator during the year.

The value of claims handled by the CBN rose sharply in 2025, with claims denominated in naira increasing to N40.61 billion from N17.13 billion in 2024. Foreign currency claims also surged to $344.2 million, compared with $1.06 million a year earlier.

Following the resolution of complaints, consumers recovered N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, up from N9.66 billion and $0.67 million, respectively, in 2024.

In addition to the N430 million in sanctions related to customer complaints, the apex bank said it imposed 11 additional penalties totaling N1.26 billion on financial institutions for regulatory violations and failure to respond to its queries.

The report showed that complaints management was part of a broader overhaul of the CBN’s supervisory and market conduct framework undertaken in 2025.

In 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced guidelines outlining how customers can lodge complaints against financial institutions, including commercial banks, to strengthen consumer protection and improve dispute resolution.

As part of its broader regulatory reforms, the apex bank also established a dedicated Compliance Department to enhance oversight of financial crime, market conduct, complaints management, advertising standards, cybersecurity, data protection and corporate governance across institutions under its supervision.