The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has flipped its fortunes, recording a profit of N38.8 billion in 2024 after suffering a staggering N1.27 trillion loss in 2023. This turnaround is revealed in the bank’s newly released financial statements and is largely credited to major gains from financial investments and asset revaluations.
These revaluation gains, which arise when the value of the bank’s assets—such as bonds and foreign reserves—increase, soared to N1.89 trillion this year. Just a year ago, the same category recorded a N28 billion loss. The CBN also posted N12.9 trillion in other income, tripling its 2023 figures, highlighting improved performance across investment categories.
“The revaluation gains played a key role in reversing last year’s massive deficit,” a source familiar with the data noted. Yet, despite this return to profitability, the bank continues to grapple with massive losses on derivative contracts.
Gains Offset by Deep Derivative Losses
The CBN’s exposure to derivatives—financial contracts often used for hedging currency or interest rate risks—resulted in even bigger losses in 2024. It lost N13.88 trillion on these instruments, more than double the N6.25 trillion lost the previous year. The report did not elaborate on the factors behind this sharp deterioration, raising questions about risk management practices.
Still, the CBN’s asset base has expanded significantly. Total assets rose to N117.6 trillion, up from N87.9 trillion in 2023. This growth is mainly due to the jump in foreign reserves, which climbed to N54.7 trillion from N29.9 trillion. IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) also increased to N6.36 trillion, from N3.95 trillion last year.
At the same time, cash and bank balances took a nosedive, plunging to N34.72 billion from N111.15 billion. Loans and receivables dropped as well, down to N10.96 trillion from N15.09 trillion, suggesting a more conservative credit approach.
Liabilities Surge as Equity Shrinks
With profit report may appear encouraging, the CBN’s broader financial health tells a more complex story. Group-level losses remain significant at N524.6 billion, and the bank’s own accumulated losses worsened to N798.6 billion. Currency in circulation expanded to N5.44 trillion from N3.65 trillion, while total deposits jumped to N52.38 trillion from N38.18 trillion.
Liabilities related to instruments issued by the CBN rose to N24.27 trillion from N17.40 trillion. Other liabilities—including IMF-related obligations—surged to N21.20 trillion, up from N19.02 trillion, with IMF dues alone rising to N5.07 trillion from N2.52 trillion.
Altogether, the bank’s total liabilities now stand at N116.59 trillion, a sharp increase from N85.86 trillion in 2023. Equity, however, took a significant hit. Group equity fell to N1.01 trillion, compared to N2.01 trillion last year, and standalone equity slipped to N728.24 billion from N882.42 billion.
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