Summary
Nigeria's banks look like lenders to the private economy, and they are funded like lenders: by the deposits of households and firms. But before those deposits can become loans, the state has first call on them.
A fixed share of every naira deposit must be placed with the central bank, and for public deposits held outside the government's own account that share is three quarters. The federal government then borrows from the banks by selling them treasury bills and bonds. Firms and households borrow from what is left.
The size of a Nigerian bank's deposit base does not by itself decide how much it lends to the private economy. The rule and the government's borrowing decide how much of each deposit is left to lend.
The edition covers the deposit money banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, commercial and merchant, together with non-interest banks.