Nigerian banks report 23.3 million account closures in july

In July 2024, commercial and merchant banks closed 23.3 million customer accounts.

This marks a 0.56% month-on-month increase from the 23.17 million accounts closed in June.

Data from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) revealed that from January to July, the total number of closed accounts decreased by 5.6%, down from 24.7 million in January.

Additionally, the number of active bank accounts grew by 2.4% month-on-month, rising to 231.1 million in July from 225.53 million in June.

Conversely, dormant accounts decreased by 7.6% month-on-month, falling to 18.97 million in July from 20.57 million in June.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and financial institutions to deposit unclaimed balances from dormant accounts into its accounts, as outlined in its guidelines on managing dormant accounts and unclaimed balances.

The CBN also established regulatory measures to assist account owners in recovering dormant funds for up to 10 years and announced plans to create a dedicated office for managing these accounts.