Nigerian banks significantly increased the amount of money deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in July 2026, reflecting stronger liquidity conditions in the banking system.
According to the latest CBN financial data, deposits placed by banks in the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rose by 670.2 per cent year-on-year to N83.95 trillion in July 2026, compared with N10.9 trillion in July 2025.
In contrast, banks’ borrowing from the apex bank through the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) declined sharply by 82 per cent year-on-year to N1.19 trillion, down from N6.63 trillion in the corresponding period of 2025.
The SDF is the window through which the CBN accepts short-term deposits from banks, while the SLF allows banks to borrow from the apex bank when they need liquidity support. The CBN also provides liquidity through repurchase (Repo) operations, where it buys banks’ securities with an agreement to resell them at a later date.
Analysts say the sharp increase in deposits and the steep decline in borrowing suggest that banks are currently holding more excess liquidity and relying less on emergency funding from the central bank.
The development comes shortly after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained key monetary policy parameters, including the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.5 per cent.
The CBN also kept the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks at 45 per cent, the CRR for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and the 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits.
By maintaining these policy settings, the apex bank signalled its commitment to a tight monetary policy stance aimed at controlling inflation and managing liquidity in the economy.
The latest figures indicate that while the CBN is keeping interest rates high to fight inflation, commercial banks are operating with relatively stronger liquidity positions compared with the same period last year.
