Despite more than N5.3 trillion injected into Nigeria’s banking and insurance industries through two major recapitalisation exercises, growth in the two sectors slowed to 9.29 per cent in real terms in the second quarter of 2026, raising questions over how quickly the fresh capital can translate into stronger credit creation, underwriting capacity and broader economic expansion.
Banks completed recapitalisation on March 31, while the insurance sector’s recapitalisation ended July 31.

The latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the sector’s growth rate fell by 6.84 percentage points from the 16.13 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

The slowdown came despite the completion of the capital raising, suggesting that the immediate impact of the huge capital mobilisation on economic activities remains limited.

Industry stakeholders said the development underscored the gap between raising capital and deploying it effectively, noting that the stronger balance sheets created by the exercises would only become economically significant when banks increase productive lending and insurers assume greater risks while maintaining risk discipline.

The latest figures came as Nigeria’s overall economy expanded by 4.43 per cent year-on-year in real terms in Q2 2026, up from 4.23 per cent in the same period of 2025.