Nigeria, within the first 10 months of the 12 months, recorded a complete of $20.98 billion in overseas capital influx, a 70 per cent rise over complete inflows in 2024, governor of the Central Financial institution Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso has revealed.
That is at the same time as he mentioned, $30 billion in potential investments is being reclaimed following Nigeria’s exit from the Monetary Motion Process Drive (FATF) gray checklist.
Cardoso, in his keynote handle on the sixtieth Annual Bankers’ Dinner on Friday mentioned, the surge in investor confidence displays the payoff of in depth macroeconomic reforms, disciplined financial coverage, and restored credibility in Nigeria’s monetary system.
The CBN governor assured that Nigeria is coming into 2026 with “renewed resilience, strengthened buffers, and enhancing fundamentals,” noting that the previous 12 months marked probably the most formidable reform cycles within the nation’s latest historical past.
In response to him, these reforms have decreased opacity and manipulation, and restored self-discipline to the market. “The naira now trades inside a slim, secure vary. The once-substantial hole between the official and parallel markets has shrunk to underneath two per cent down from over 60 per cent.
“Overseas capital inflows reached $20.98 billion within the first ten months of 2025, a 70 per cent improve over complete 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 per cent this 12 months, and we count on this momentum to proceed because the Non-Resident BVN, launched earlier this 12 months, 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 Guide to broaden market participation and tighten
documentation requirements, improve EFEMS surveillance, and guarantee constant implementation to avert risk of coverage reversal, “ he identified.
On Nigeria’s exit from the Monetary Motion Process Drive (FATF) gray checklist, the CBN governor famous that, the milestone was the results of a coordinated nationwide effort led by the Federal Authorities, with vital contributions from the CBN, the Ministry of Justice, the NFIU, the EFCC, and our regional companions.
He famous that ,“by way of stronger supervision, improved reporting requirements, enhanced intelligence-sharing, and governance instruments equivalent to EFEMS and the FX Code, we addressed the deficiencies recognized by FATF throughout its on-site evaluation.
“Nigeria’s grey-listing carried a big price: international locations on this class usually expertise a 7.6 per cent of GDP drop in capital inflows within the first 12 months, for Nigeria, that interprets to greater than $30 billion in potential funding. Exiting the checklist subsequently alerts 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 progress in 4 years, increasing by 4.23 per cent in Q2 2025 on the again of stronger telecommunications, monetary providers and improved oil output.
On the banking sector, Cardoso affirmed that, the continued recapitalisation train is “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 exams present the business 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 throughout the CBN sandbox. He added that the nation continues to steer the continent’s fintech panorama, serving as dwelling to eight of Africa’s 9 unicorns.
Wanting forward, Cardoso outlined six priorities for 2026, together with strengthening the banking system, delivering sturdy worth stability, increasing digital funds, fostering accountable fintech innovation, enhancing institutional capability, and deepening regulatory and stakeholder collaboration. “Our mandate is evident,” he mentioned. “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 expertise and analytics to make sure Nigeria’s financial reforms stay credible and irreversible.
