Nume Ekeghe
Cash held exterior Nigeria’s banking system stood at N4.92 trillion in September 2026, accounting for 89.23 per cent of the N5.52 trillion forex in circulation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Money and Credit Statistics has revealed.
Analysis of the info confirmed that regardless of the rise in money exterior banks over the previous yr, its share of forex in circulation declined barely, whereas money accounted for a smaller proportion of the nation’s increasing cash provide.
A breakdown confirmed that forex exterior banks rose by 10.26 per cent year-on-year from N4.47 trillion in September 2025 to N4.92 trillion in September 2026. On a month-on-month foundation, it elevated by one per cent from N4.87 trillion in August.
However, the proportion of forex in circulation held exterior banks fell to 89.23 per cent in September from 90.15 per cent in the corresponding interval of the earlier yr. This means that though the quantity of money exterior the banking system elevated, its share of whole forex in circulation moderated.
Currency in circulation, which represents money held each inside and outdoors banks, rose to N5.52 trillion in September from N4.95 trillion a yr earlier, a rise of 11.40 per cent. It additionally elevated by 1.50 per cent from N5.44 trillion in August.
A comparability with the start of the yr confirmed a unique development. Currency exterior banks declined from N5.25 trillion in January to N4.92 trillion in September, representing a contraction of 6.28 per cent. Currency in circulation additionally fell from N5.73 trillion to N5.52 trillion over the identical interval, a decline of 3.73 per cent.
The figures point out that the quantity of money exterior banks remained substantial, at the same time as the full worth of forex in circulation stayed beneath its January degree.
Another notable improvement was the declining weight of bodily money relative to the broader cash provide. Currency in circulation represented 3.76 per cent of broad cash provide, measured by M3, in September 2026, in contrast with 4.21 per cent in September 2025.
Broad cash provide elevated to N146.60 trillion in September from N117.78 trillion a yr earlier, representing an increase of 24.47 per cent. The sooner enlargement of broad cash relative to forex in circulation explains the decline in money’s share of the financial mixture.
On a month-on-month foundation, forex in circulation accounted for 3.91 per cent of broad cash provide in August, earlier than declining to three.76 per cent in September, as M3 elevated from N139.09 trillion to N146.60 trillion.
