By Elizabeth Adegbesan

Consumer credit fell Month-on-Month (MoM)  by 1.3 percent to N2.37 trillion in October 2022 from N2.4 trillion in September 2022.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,  disclosed this in its October  2022 Economic Report, noting that the development in consumer credit was as a result of a 0.2 percent decline in personal loans during the period.

This reflects the effect of the CBN monetary policy tightening during the period.

Recall that in September, the regulator raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 15.5 percent, from 14 percent in an aggressive move to fight inflation in the country.

The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was also increased to a minimum of 32.5 percent from 22.5 percent, while Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 percent.

Consequently, this resulted in an increase in banks lending rates and decline in consumer loans.

According to the CBN, the N2.37 trillion credit consists of personal loans  of N1.82 trillion and retail loans of  N553.46 billion.

The CBN said: “Consumer credit outstanding declined, owing to the tight monetary policy stance of the bank, aimed at taming inflationary pressures in the economy.

“Consumer credit outstanding declined by 1.3 per cent to N2.37 trillion from the level at end-September.

“As a share of total claims on the private sector, consumer credit fell by 0.2 percentage point to 8.5 per cent, from 8.7 percent at end-September.

“A disaggregation of consumer credit shows that personal loans stood at N1.82 trillion, accounting for 76.7 percent, while retail loans stood at N553.46 billion, and accounted for 23.3 per cent.

“The decline in personal loans by 0.2 percentage point drove the fall in consumer credit outstanding.”

In her personal statement in the communique issued at the end of the CBN November 2022 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Mrs. Ahmad Aishah, a member, said that there is the need for regulatory vigilance to mitigate credit risk in the financial system.