Banks, insurance firms, and other financial institutions collectively injected N1.77 trillion into Nigeria’s economy in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1’25), reflecting a 15 per cent year-on-year increase compared to N1.545 trillion in the same period of 2024 (Q1’24).
This data was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its recently released Gross Domestic Product report for Q1 2025.
According to the NBS, the bulk of the contribution came from banks and other financial institutions, which recorded N1.613 trillion during the period, a 16.8 per cent rise from the N1.391 trillion posted in Q1 2024.
Meanwhile, the insurance sub-sector saw a more modest growth, contributing N164.58 billion in Q1 2025, up by 7.1 per cent from N153.71 billion recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
In its Q1 2025 GDP report, the NBS stated, “The Finance and Insurance Sector consists of the two subsectors, Financial Institutions, and Insurance, in which the former accounted for 90.74% and the latter 9.26% of the sector respectively in real terms in Q1 2025. The sector grew at 21.01% in nominal terms (year-on-year), with the growth rate of Financial Institutions at 22.82% and 5.74% growth rate recorded for Insurance.”
The report further noted, “The overall rate was higher than Q1 2024 by 9.97% points, and lower by 6.43% points than the preceding quarter. The quarter-on-quarter growth was 2.41%. The sector’s contribution to the nominal GDP was 3.07% in Q1 2025, higher than the 3.00% it represented a year previous, and higher than the contribution of 2.70% it made in the preceding quarter.”
Also highlighting real growth figures, the NBS added, “Growth in this sector in real terms totaled 15.03%, higher by 13.57% points from the rate recorded in the 2024 first quarter and higher by 9.04% points from the rate recorded in the preceding quarter.”
“Quarter-on-quarter growth in real terms stood at 17.50%. The contribution of Finance and Insurance to real GDP totalled 3.60%, higher than the contribution of 3.23% recorded in the first quarter of 2024 by 0.37% points, and higher than 2.46% recorded in Q4 2024 by 1.14% points.”
The figures underline the growing influence of the finance and insurance sector in the broader Nigerian economy, with significant upticks recorded across both nominal and real indicators.