The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, says Nigeria’s improving economic indicators will mean little unless they translate into lower living costs, more jobs, higher incomes and better living standards for citizens.

The President and Chairman of Council of the CIBN, Dr Dele Alabi, made this known at the opening of the institute’s 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja.

Alabi says Nigeria’s economic reforms must move beyond improving macroeconomic figures and begin to produce tangible benefits for households and businesses.

He says the next phase of the reforms should focus on ensuring that economic stability leads to increased investment, affordable credit, stronger businesses and reduced poverty.

The CIBN president also highlights the need to support micro, small and medium enterprises, which continue to face high operating costs, poor infrastructure, limited market access, skills shortages and slow digital adoption.

The World Bank’s Lead Private Sector Development Specialist in Nigeria, Bertine Kamphuis, also says credit to the private sector remains inadequate.

She urges banks to increase financing for sectors with strong job-creation potential, particularly agriculture, manufacturing and MSMEs.

Kamphuis says this is important as between three and four million young Nigerians enter the labour market every year.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerian banks to rethink their approach to risk and play a stronger role in financing productive sectors of the economy.

Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, says strong bank profits alone are no longer enough.

He says banks must help businesses access affordable credit, support manufacturers to expand and bring more productive MSMEs into the formal financial system.

The President says Nigeria’s economy is returning to stability and investor confidence is improving, but warns that macroeconomic stability should not be mistaken for prosperity.

He says the next phase of the country’s reforms must convert stability into investment, investment into production, production into jobs and economic growth into improved living standards.

On bank recapitalisation, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, says the significant capital raised by banks demonstrates the depth of capital available locally.

Cardoso, represented by CBN Deputy Governor Philip Ikeazor, urges banks to use the additional capital to finance the real sector and support faster economic growth.

He also calls on state governments to work with the CBN and Federal Government to tackle inflation, expressing optimism that single-digit inflation is achievable through stronger collaboration.