The Central Bank of Nigeria has reduced its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, lowering it from 27 percent to 26.50 percent.
The CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced this in a press briefing after its 304th Monetary Policy Committee on Tuesday.
Cardoso said the decision was unanimously agreed upon by all members of MPC.
He said the committee retained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 45 percent for commercial banks and 16 percent for merchant banks, while the 75 percent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits was equally maintained.
Cardoso added that the liquidity ratio was retained at 30 percent, and the standing facilities corridor was adjusted to +50/-450 basis points around the monetary policy rate.
“The committee decided to reduce the monetary policy rate by 50 basis points to 26.50 percent,” he said.
Recall that in November 2025, the MPC retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.00 percent. The last time the apex bank cut interest was in September last year, from 27 percent to 27.50 percent.
The country’s interest rate dropped in January to 15.10 percent from N15.15 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
