Nigeria within the first 10 months of the yr recorded a complete of $20.98 billion in overseas capital influx, a 70 per cent rise over whole inflows in 2024, Governor of the Central Financial institution Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, revealed as he stated $30 billion in potential investments was being reclaimed following Nigeria’s exit from the Monetary Motion Job Drive (FATF) gray checklist.
Cardoso, in his keynote tackle on the sixtieth Annual Bankers’ Dinner on Friday, stated the surge in investor confidence mirrored the payoff of intensive macroeconomic reforms, disciplined financial coverage, and restored credibility in Nigeria’s monetary system.
The CBN governor assured that Nigeria was getting into 2026 with “renewed resilience, strengthened buffers, and enhancing fundamentals,” noting that the previous yr marked some of the bold reform cycles within the nation’s current historical past.
In accordance with him, the reforms have decreased opacity and manipulation, and restored self-discipline to the market. “The naira now trades inside a slender, steady vary. The once-substantial hole between the official and parallel markets has shrunk to below two per cent down from over 60 per cent.
“International capital inflows reached $20.98 billion within the first ten months of 2025, a 70 per cent enhance over whole inflows for 2024 and a 428 per cent surge in comparison with the $3.9 billion recorded in 2023, reflecting a transparent resurgence in investor confidence. Diaspora remittances have additionally strengthened with confidence returning to official channels following enhancements in transparency, settlement effectivity, and reporting.
“Remittances elevated by roughly 12% this yr, and we count on this momentum to proceed because the Non-Resident BVN, launched earlier this yr, turns into extra extensively adopted in 2026. We’re dedicated to sustaining the present versatile exchange-rate framework that enables the naira to behave as a shock absorber whereas limiting extreme volatility.
“To strengthen this framework additional, we’ll shortly be unveiling the revised FX Handbook to increase market participation and tighten documentation requirements, improve EFEMS surveillance, and guarantee constant implementation to keep away from any chance of coverage reversal.”
On Nigeria’s exit from the FATF gray checklist, the CBN governor famous that the milestone was the results of a coordinated nationwide effort led by the Federal Authorities, with essential contributions from the CBN, the Ministry of Justice, the NFIU, the EFCC, and regional companions.
He famous that, “by means of stronger supervision, improved reporting requirements, enhanced intelligence-sharing, and governance instruments corresponding to EFEMS and the FX Code, we addressed the deficiencies recognized by FATF throughout its on-site evaluation. Nigeria’s grey-listing carried a major price: international locations on this class usually expertise a 7.6% of GDP drop in capital inflows within the first yr, for Nigeria, that interprets to greater than $30 billion in potential funding. Exiting the checklist due to this fact indicators a serious restoration of confidence and eases compliance frictions for correspondent banks.”
Cardoso highlighting Nigeria’s broader macroeconomic turnaround, pointed to inflation which has fallen from 34.6 per cent in November 2024 to 16.05 per cent in October 2025, marking seven consecutive months of disinflation. Meals inflation decreased to 13.12 per cent, down sharply from 21.87 per cent in August. He added that Nigeria recorded its strongest quarterly GDP development in 4 years, increasing by 4.23 per cent in Q2 2025 on the again of stronger telecommunications, monetary companies and improved oil output.
On the banking sector, Cardoso affirmed that the continued recapitalisation train was “firmly on schedule,” with 27 banks having raised capital and 16 already assembly or surpassing their required thresholds forward of the March 31, 2026 deadline. Stress checks present the trade stays essentially sound at the same time as regulators tighten cyber-risk oversight, credit-governance pointers and operational self-discipline.
He famous that Nigeria’s digital-finance transformation has accelerated, with over 12 million contactless fee playing cards in circulation and greater than 40 fintech innovators working inside the CBN sandbox. He added that the nation continues to guide the continent’s fintech panorama, serving as residence to eight of Africa’s 9 unicorns.
Wanting forward, Cardoso outlined six priorities for 2026, together with strengthening the banking system, delivering sturdy value stability, increasing digital funds, fostering accountable fintech innovation, enhancing institutional capability, and deepening regulatory and stakeholder collaboration. “Our mandate is evident,” he stated. “Stability stays the bedrock on which funding prospers, buying energy is protected, and shared prosperity turns into potential.”
He reassured stakeholders that the CBN would preserve its disciplined strategy to financial coverage, strengthen fiscal coordination, and proceed deploying know-how and analytics to make sure Nigeria’s financial reforms stay credible and irreversible.
