The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised its key interest rate, known as the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), to 27.25%. This decision was reached during the fifth meeting of the year by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), held on Tuesday at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
The MPR serves as the baseline interest rate in Nigeria’s economy, influencing various other interest rates, including those charged by banks on loans and offered on deposits. The increase to 27.25% represents a hike of 50 basis points from the previous rate of 26.75%, which had been set in July 2024.
Under the current leadership of Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, who became the Governor of the Central Bank a year ago, this marks an overall increase of 8.5% in the MPR.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Dr. Cardoso stated that the decision to raise the interest rate was unanimous among MPC members. He said, “The committee was unanimous in its decision to further tighten policy and thus decided as follows, one: raise the MPR to 27.25 per cent.”
