CBN flags over 13,000 fraud linked BVNs as banks tighten security

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says more Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) have been linked to fraud as banks strengthen efforts to detect and prevent financial crimes.

According to the CBN’s 2025 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, the number of BVNs on the banking industry’s fraud watchlist increased from 9,476 in 2024 to 13,117 in 2025. This represents a 38.4 per cent increase.

The apex bank explained that commercial banks, including Access Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and other financial institutions, added 3,641 new BVNs to the watchlist during the year.

The report said the increase reflects stronger fraud monitoring, improved compliance, better risk management, and enhanced systems for detecting suspicious transactions. It added that the higher number does not necessarily mean fraud has increased, but shows banks are becoming more active in identifying and blocking suspicious activities.

The report also revealed that consumer lending declined for the first time since 2019. Outstanding consumer credit dropped by 19.89 per cent, falling from N4.72 trillion in 2024 to N3.78 trillion in 2025.

The CBN attributed the decline to high interest rates, which made borrowing more expensive for many Nigerians.

Personal loans recorded the biggest drop, falling to N1.85 trillion. However, retail loans rose by 63.77 per cent to N1.94 trillion, making them the largest category of consumer credit for the first time in several years.

Retail loans accounted for 51.16 per cent of total consumer credit, while personal loans made up 48.84 per cent.

The report also showed that consumer credit represented only 6.6 per cent of total private sector lending in 2025, down from 7.98 per cent in the previous year.

Banks also continued to favour short-term lending. Short-term loans made up 51.6 per cent of total bank credit, while medium-term loans accounted for 13.46 per cent and long-term loans increased to 34.94 per cent.

The CBN said this is because most customer deposits are short-term, making shorter loans less risky for banks. It noted that deposits with maturities of one year or less accounted for 91 per cent of total bank deposits in 2025.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s BVN database continued to grow.

The number of registered BVNs increased from 64.40 million in 2024 to 67.82 million in 2025, adding 3.42 million new registrations.

The total number of bank accounts linked to BVNs rose from 297.29 million to 368.92 million, while active bank accounts increased from 311.6 million to 339.26 million.

The CBN also disclosed that the number of BVNs belonging to deceased persons on the watchlist rose from 21,118 to 28,754 as part of efforts to improve customer records and reduce identity-related fraud.

According to the apex bank, the continued increase in BVN registrations and linked bank accounts shows progress in financial inclusion, stronger regulatory compliance, and improved integrity of Nigeria’s banking system, even as banks continue to strengthen measures against fraud.