E-Financial
Pension Funds Recorded Significant Growth in 2022

The sound regulation and supervision of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) in Nigeria by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has yielded positive results, as evidenced by significant growth in pension assets. Pension assets increased by N1.56 trillion in 2022 to stand at N14.99 trillion as of 31 December 2022. In 2021, pension assets increased by N1.12 trillion to end the year at N13.43 trillion.
PenCom oversees Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to ensure that employees’ pension funds are managed professionally, and their benefits are guaranteed. Under the CPS, pension assets have witnessed growth through pension contributions and investment returns.
In terms of pension contributions, the CPS, established by the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014, is an arrangement where both the employer and the employee contribute a portion of an employee’s monthly emolument towards the payment of the employee’s pension at retirement.
The PRA 2014 provides a minimum contribution rate of 18 percent of the employee’s monthly emoluments comprising 10 percent by the employer and 8 percent by the employee. An employee may also decide to add to his contribution by voluntarily making additional contributions through his employer.
PFAs invest pension contributions on behalf of the employees. In 2022, the CPS recorded 333,002 new contributors, bringing the total CPS membership to 9.86 million. Pension contributions from the new RSA holders contributed to the overall growth in pension assets in the year.
For investment returns, PFAs invest pension contributions in a diversified portfolio of assets, including government bonds, stocks, real estate, and other asset classes such as private equity funds. The returns generated from investments in the above assets contribute to the growth of pension funds.
Consequently, workers participating in the CPS are assured of adequate funds to cater for their pension at retirement. Section 85(1) of the PRA 2014 states that “All Contributions made under this Act shall be invested by the Pension Fund Administrator with the objectives of safety and maintenance of fair returns on the amount invested”.
Furthermore, section 85(2) states, “Pension funds and assets shall only be invested in accordance with regulations and guidelines issued by the Commission, from time to time”.
It is instructive to note that the returns on all pension fund investments are apportioned directly to the RSAs of pension contributors.
Consequently, PFAs must indicate clearly in the RSA Statement of Accounts the total monthly pension contributions from the inception of the account and the returns on investment accrued to the contributor during the reporting period.
In addition, to ensure transparency, PenCom requires PFAs to publish on their websites the daily value of an accounting unit for the RSA Funds and disclose the three-year rolling average rates of returns on pension funds.
Meanwhile, a vital benefit of the CPS is that the investment returns generated from pension contributions are compounded over the years, thus resulting in increased RSA balances that avail the contributor of financial security during retirement.
Indeed, due to the sound investment regulatory framework established by PenCom, returns on investment have been good over time, such that it contributes a significant proportion of the RSA balances of contributors.
Accordingly, the CPS provides an opportunity to the contributor for higher retirement income, unlike the Defined Benefits Scheme, where retirement benefit payments are fixed upfront.
Due to the apparent benefits that pension contributors get from the investments of their pension savings, employees need to monitor their employers and ensure prompt remittance of their monthly pension contributions.
Employers are obliged by law to deduct and remit pension contributions into their employees’ RSAs not later than seven working days from the date salaries are paid. Consequently, employers that delay remitting pension contributions will eventually pay the delayed contribution plus a penalty of not less than 2 percent of the total unpaid contributions monthly.
Overall, the CPS provide employees with a stable source of income during their retirement through a combination of contributions and investment returns. PenCom is committed to the effective regulation of the pension industry in Nigeria to ensure that employees under the CPS receive their retirement benefits as and when due.
E-Financial
NIBBS: Banks Close 29.4m Accounts, Dormant Accounts Hit 33.39m

Banks in Nigeria closed 29.4 million accounts as of March 2025, according to the latest report by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).
The figure represents a sharp year-on-year increase of 30.43 per cent from the 22.54 million closed accounts recorded in March 2024.
It also reflects a steady rise in account closures over recent months, with 33.29 million closed accounts reported in February 2025 and 29.43 million in January.
The report also revealed a significant increase in dormant accounts, which surged to 33.39 million in March 2025, up from 19.79 million in the same period in 2024, a 71.3 per cent rise in inactive accounts over the past year.
Despite the spike in closures and dormant accounts, the number of active bank accounts rose from 219.64 million in March 2024 to 320.05 million in March 2025, representing an increase of over 100 million, or 45.7 per cent.
NIBSS defines a dormant account as one that has seen no deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or point-of-sale transaction for a period of six months.
The surge in account closures and dormancy follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive issued in December 2023, mandating commercial banks to restrict Tier-1 accounts not linked to a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) by March 1, 2024.
In response to the directive, BVN enrolment increased from 61.6 million in April 2024 to 66.23 million by July 2025, as more Nigerians rushed to meet the CBN’s compliance deadline.
E-Financial
Cardoso, CBN Boss Risks Arrest over Alleged N5.2 Trillion Unremitted Funds

The Joint Committee of the House of Representatives on Public Accounts and Public Assets has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over repeated failure to honour its invitations regarding the probe into non-compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and Finance Act 2020.

Olayemi Cardoso,, Gov, CBN
In a joint statement released on Friday and signed by Hon. Bamidele Salam and Hon. Ademorin Kuye, chairmen of the committees, the lawmakers decried the CBN governor’s continued disregard for legislative summons.
The committee is investigating the non-remittance of operating surplus as well as the mismanagement of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances.
According to the committee, the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation reported a liability of N5.2 trillion in unremitted operating surplus due to the federal government from 2016 to 2022; a claim corroborated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in a separate submission to the National Assembly.
The committee cited provisions of the Finance Act 2020, which mandate that unclaimed dividends from publicly listed companies and dormant bank account balances older than six years be transferred into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund. The fund is to be managed by a Governing Council led by the Minister of Finance and the Debt Management Office (DMO).
Contrary to this, the CBN maintains that the Financial Institutions Act 2020 empowers it to manage dormant balances.
However, the committee noted that the Attorney General of the Federation has issued a legal opinion affirming that the Finance Act 2020 remains the valid law guiding the management of such funds.
Following extensive submissions, the committee resolved that the CBN must remit N3.64 trillion, representing 70% of the undisputed N5.2 trillion operating surplus, within 14 days from receipt of its June 27, 2025, directive, pending final reconciliation of the disputed amount.
Additionally, the apex bank was directed to submit a detailed report on the total sum of unclaimed dividends and dormant account balances by June 30, 2025.
The CBN was also ordered to transfer these funds into the Unclaimed Fund Trust Fund within 14 days and furnish the House with evidence of the transaction.
The lawmakers expressed frustration that, despite the clear directives and ample time, the CBN governor has failed to respond or appear before the joint committee to provide an explanation.
“In view of this continued defiance, the Committee will be compelled to exercise its constitutional powers to compel Mr. Olayemi Cardoso to appear before it,” the statement warned.
E-Financial
Moody’s Upgrades Ecobank’s Outlook to Stable

Moody’s has upgraded the outlook on Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.
In the latest rating commentary, made available to media on Thursday, Moody’s also affirmed the pan-African banking group’s B3/Not Prime long- and short-term issuer ratings; B3 senior unsecured debt rating; b2 notional Baseline Credit Assessment and b1 Adjusted BCA.
ETI’s subsidiaries operate across 38 countries, including 35 African countries, and total assets of $28.9bn as of March 2025, details from the rating note highlighted. Moody’s said the decision to change the outlook to stable on the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings reflects ETI’s resilient financial performance.
The rating upgrade also takes into consideration higher dividends being upstreamed to ETI, resulting in lower double leverage and reduced refinancing risk.
The rating adjustment also reflects an expectation that the recapitalisation process of Ecobank Nigeria Limited will be completed by the end of 2025, with limited impact on the group’s financial fundamentals.
“The stable outlook also captures our expectation that a series of capital-boosting initiatives and actions to cure Ecobank Nigeria’s total capital position will be completed before the end of 2025”, according to the ratings agency.
In May 2025, ETI received shareholder approval to raise $250 million in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital and announced the launch of the transaction effective 9 July 2025, of which a portion is expected to be downstreamed to Ecobank Nigeria as AT1 capital during Q3 2025.
Ecobank Nigeria’s plan to raise $200m in AT1 capital was noted in the rating note. The ratings analysts said they consider
“We also note that Ecobank Nigeria’s recent successful offer to tender $150m of its February 2026 $300 million notes and consent to remove the capital adequacy ratio covenant from this bond’s terms alleviates risks of an event of default in Nigeria that would trigger cross default at the ETI level. Over the past year, ETI has shown resilience in its financial performance, which supports our change in outlook to stable. Liquidity risks are being moderated by the group’s gradually improving profitability during 2024 and Q1-2025.
“This has translated into a 22 per cent increase in dividends upstreamed to ETI during 2024, these being received from 22 dividend-paying subsidiaries compared to just 14 in 2021,” the rating commentary revealed.
In turn, albeit high, ETI’s double leverage ratio, which measures the liquidity risk taken on by the holding company, as a result of it borrowing in order to invest in the equity of its subsidiaries, has eased to 168 per cent as of December 2024 from 173 per cent in 2023.
Additionally, the stable outlook reflects reduced liquidity risk at the holding company level with the refinancing of short-term liabilities in 2024 with longer-term funding.
Moody’s said this is underpinned by demonstrated market access, notably through senior unsecured notes issuance of $400m in October 2024 and a tap increase of $125m in May 2025, maturing in October 2029.
ETI’s B3 long-term issuer ratings affirmation reflects the affirmation of the group’s b2 notional BCA; the affirmation of the group’s b1 adjusted BCA as captured by a one-notch uplift for affiliate support, reflecting Moody’s assessment of a moderate probability that the firm’s major institutional shareholders would extend support to the group. Moody’s said asset quality for the group has improved over recent years.
- Telecom2 days ago
Glo Launches Nigeria’s First-of-its-kind Device Protection Plan
- Telecom2 days ago
Telcos: How and Why Network Services have Been Poor
- Broadcasting2 days ago
Canal+ Clears Final Hurdle to Acquire South Africa’s MultiChoice
- E-Business2 days ago
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website
- Telecom2 days ago
MTN Executive Adeola Oduntan Emerges as Africa’s Supply Chain Leader of 2025
- Telecom2 days ago
MTN Nigeria Sweeps Africa’s Procurement Awards With Innovation and Impact
- E-Business2 days ago
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups
- Telecom2 days ago
Telegram to allow U.S. users send, receive crypto directly in app