ABUJA — The Central Bank of Nigeria has been named “Central Bank of the Year” by The Banker, a London-based publication that has tracked the industry for more than a century, according to people familiar with the announcement.
The accolade, conferred late Monday at a ceremony in London, marks the first time an African institution has taken the top prize since 2019. Governor Olayemi Cardoso accepted the trophy on behalf of the bank, telling attendees that the award “validates the painful but necessary decisions we have taken to stabilise Nigeria’s economy.”
The Banker’s judging panel cited the CBN’s unification of multiple exchange-rate windows in mid-2025, the acceleration of interest-rate increases to curb inflation, and the launch of a wholesale foreign-exchange auction platform as reasons for the honour, according to an advance copy of the citation seen by ThisDay and shared with other media.
Nigeria’s economy has been buffeted by 28.9 percent year-on-year inflation as of January, soaring food prices and heavy debt-servicing costs. The CBN responded by raising its benchmark rate by 1,200 basis points over 10 months and scrapping a decades-old system that allowed government agencies and favoured importers to access dollars at below-market rates.
Analysts say the reforms have attracted fresh portfolio inflows—about $3.2 billion since October, according to central-bank data—but have also triggered volatility. The naira briefly touched an all-time low of ₦1,900 to the dollar on the parallel market in February before clawing back some ground after an emergency CBN intervention.
“Investors welcome the transparency, but the transition has been brutal for households,” said Temitope Adebajo, West Africa economist at Chronos Advisory. “An award does not automatically fix structural weaknesses such as power shortages and crude-output caps.”
Opposition lawmakers were blunter, accusing the administration of “celebrating optics while citizens face record hardship.” A spokesperson for the CBN countered that inflation would “begin a decisive downward path” in the second half of 2026 as harvests improve and fiscal subsidies are retargeted.
The Banker’s annual awards have grown in prestige because winners are selected by a panel of former regulators and academics rather than by advertisers. Previous recipients include the Reserve Bank of India and the Banco Central de Chile.
Looking ahead, economists expect the CBN’s monetary policy committee, meeting 22-23 April, to decide whether to pause or continue its tightening cycle. A pause could relieve pressure on domestic borrowers but risks derailing the recent uptick in foreign portfolio inflows. Either way, the global spotlight on the CBN is likely to intensify as Nigeria attempts to navigate its toughest macro-economic patch in decades.