The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed a total of ₦430 million in penalties on financial institutions for failing to promptly resolve customer complaints and for violating the apex bank’s consumer protection directives.
The sanctions, contained in the CBN’s 2025 Annual Report, revealed that 21 penalties were issued against various financial institutions over infractions related to complaints management.
According to the report, the affected institutions were sanctioned for delays in addressing customers’ complaints as well as non-compliance with regulatory directives issued by the apex bank.
“The Bank imposed 21 penalties on financial institutions to the tune of ₦430.00 million for infractions ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives,” the report stated.
The report also showed that the CBN received 23,129 customer complaints in 2025, representing a 10.53 per cent increase from the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024. The regulator attributed the rise to increased public awareness of its complaint resolution mechanism and growing confidence in the process, rather than a decline in banking service quality.
During the review period, the apex bank successfully resolved 18,824 complaints, marking a 9.36 per cent increase compared to the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.
The report further disclosed a significant rise in the value of claims handled by the regulator. Claims denominated in naira increased to ₦40.61 billion in 2025 from ₦17.13 billion in the previous year, while foreign currency claims surged to $344.2 million, up from $1.06 million.
Following the resolution of complaints, affected customers recovered ₦19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, compared to ₦9.66 billion and $670,000 refunded in 2024.
Beyond the ₦430 million sanctions linked to customer complaints, the CBN also disclosed that it imposed an additional 11 penalties worth ₦1.26 billion on financial institutions for other regulatory breaches, including failure to respond to regulatory queries.
The development underscores the apex bank’s renewed commitment to strengthening consumer protection, improving complaints resolution, and ensuring greater compliance with regulatory standards across Nigeria’s banking sector.
