May 21, 2025/CSL Research

• As anticipated, the MPC decided to leave its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 27.5%.
• CBN governor Olayemi Cardoso explained that the rate hold was imperative to allow for a clearer assessment of emerging short-term economic developments.
• We still expect the MPC to cut its benchmark policy rate this year by at least 100-150bps, though this could be delayed until the fourth quarter if risks remain elevated.

In line with our expectations, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced yesterday that it had voted to maintain the monetary policy rate (MPR) at its current level of 27.5%, with unanimous support from all members. The other key policy parameters were also left unchanged: cash reserve requirement (CRR) for deposit money banks and merchant banks at 50% and 16% respectively, the Liquidity ratio at 30.0%, and the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis points.

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​​​CSL Macro Report – May MPC decision.pdf​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​