The Central Bank of Nigeria said that, largely due to higher inflation, consumer credit increased by 12% to over ₦3.9 billion in January 2024, indicating that Nigerians had turned to loans as one of their survival tactics.
The total amount of outstanding consumer credit rose to N3,823 billion in January 2024, according the latest monthly economic report from the apex bank.
According to the study, personal loans rose by 14.3% to N3,028 billion in December 2023 from N2,649 billion, as a result of a disaggregation of consumer credit.
Continuing, personal loans made up 79% of consumer credit, while retail loans made up 21%. Retail loans increased by 4% to N795 billion.
However, the percentage of consumer credit from Online Data Capture Systems (ODCs) fell to roughly 7% from 8% the previous month, according to the report.
According to the local news brand, this is because, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the headline inflation rate reached 33.95 percent in May, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates thrice to 26.25 percent.
Nigerians are currently experiencing the biggest economic crisis due to the growing cost of living brought on by rising inflation.
In light of record inflation, 27% of Nigerians in all income brackets, according to an SBM Intelligence report, now use loan applications to pay for their daily needs.
The sharp increase in demand for these lending applications is a sign of how seriously the persistent inflationary pressures are affecting Nigerians’ everyday lives, particularly for those who are already struggling with tight budgets.
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