The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published fresh data showing that the average maximum lending rate charged by commercial and merchant banks hs droppd to 33.16% in June 2026, down from 34.78% in May 2026.

The figures come from the CBN's Money Market Indicators report and reflect only the second meaningful drop in the maximum lending rate in 2026.

The rate opened 2026 at 32.68% in January, climbed to 35.17% in February, and held near that level through April before beginning to ease.

Why rates are still moving down

In its laest meeeting, the Monetary Policy Committee chose to leave the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) unchanged at 26.5% at its most recent meeting, a level it has held since February following a 50-basis-point cut, Punch reports.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the committee's decision to keep all policy parameters steady was aimed at preserving macroeconomic stability while giving earlier measures more time to work through the economy.

The maximum lending rate is the ceiling interest rate banks apply to borrowers considered higher credit risks. Prime lending rates, which are lower, go to customers with stronger financial profiles.

Both figures remain far above their year-ago levels. In June 2025, the average maximum lending rate stood at 29.51%, meaning borrowers are still paying roughly 3.65 percentage points more than they were a year earlier despite the recent dip.

Here is a snapshot of banks' lending rates

CBN data published showed latest banks maximum and prime lending rates.

Prime lending rates are usually offered to customers with strong credit profiles and low risk, while the maximum lending rates apply to customers with lower credit ratings or higher risk.

Bank Prime(%) Maximum(%)

Access Bank 25.50 32.00

Alpha Morgan Bank 27.00 33.00

Citi Bank 19.00 20.00

Coronation Merchant Bank 25.00 28.00

Ecobank 26.75 48.00

Quest Merchant Bank 5.00 32.50

FCMB 31.00 46.00

Fidelity Bank 30.00 36.00

First Bank of Nigeria 26.00 38.00

FSDH Merchant Bank 22.00 33.00

Globus Bank Ltd 28.50 33.00

Greenwich Merchant Bank 23.60 29.50

Guaranty Trust Bank 21.00 32.00

Keystone Bank Ltd 30.50 36.00

Nova Bank 33.78 39.00

Optimus Bank 28.50 35.00

Parallex Bank 30.00 32.50

Polaris Bank 29.00 41.00

Premium Trust Bank 28.00 36.00

Providus Bank 26.50 35.00

Rand Merchant Bank 19.50 19.50

Signature Bank – –

Stanbic IBTC 1.00 60.00

Standard Chartered Bank 27.00 29.00

Sterling Bank 26.00 33.50

SunTrust Bank 22.00 37.00

Tatum Bank 41.65 46.65

United Bank for Africa 28.50 32.00

Union Bank 16.95 38.00

Unity Bank 30.00 38.00

Wema Bank 32.50 34.50

Zenith Bank 23.62 32.0