The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released new rules to guide commercial banks on ensuring consistency and uniformity in credit reporting, in a move aimed at improving transparency and promoting responsible loan management.
The directive was disclosed in a letter to all banks titled “Additional Guide to the Provision of Information on Credit Printouts”, dated June 13, 2025, and signed by Olubukola A. Akinwunmi, director of Banking Supervision at the CBN.
According to the apex bank, the new guidelines follow discoveries made during on-site examinations, where credit printouts presented by some banks were found to be inconsistent with customer files and past examination records. Key loan parameters were observed to change from one examination cycle to another, raising concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the data submitted.
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The CBN referred to its existing Prudential Guidelines for Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria (July 2010), which set the framework for evaluating loan books and making provisions for overdue loans in line with sound risk management standards. However, to address the inconsistencies observed, the CBN has now introduced additional requirements to standardise how credit information is presented.
Under the new rules, each loan must maintain the same contract number throughout its life. Banks must provide proof of full repayment for any contract number that no longer appears in the credit report; otherwise, it will be treated as a written-off facility and classified as “lost”.
The original date a loan was granted must also remain unchanged, even if the facility is restructured or enhanced. Any restructuring or enhancement should be recorded separately, and banks must provide documented evidence of the borrower’s request and the revised loan offer terms.
Additionally, the CBN has placed a limit on the use of “yearly” and “bullet” repayment structures. These repayment types must not account for more than 10 percent of a bank’s total loan portfolio. Project-based loans, as defined under section 20(d) of the Prudential Guidelines, are not allowed to use bullet repayments, since such facilities should be repaid from cash flows generated over the life of the project.
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Loans with tenors exceeding 12 months must not be structured as bullet repayments unless they are fully backed by cash or have a properly functioning sinking fund that matures before or on the loan’s due date. Bullet repayments may only be used where repayments are tied to the sale of the asset financed by the loan or supported by a sinking fund. Furthermore, a loan should not be restructured into a bullet repayment unless it was originally issued with that repayment method.
The CBN said these new measures are designed to improve transparency, accountability, and sound credit risk management across the Nigerian banking industry.
