The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has tightened monetary policy in order to deal with inflation.

This move has restricted commercial banks giving credit to lenders and has aided the arrest of inflation getting out of control.

An analysis by the Daily Trust says that the required cash reserve deposits with the apex bank rose from N10.13 trillion in December 2022 to N17.26 trillion as of December 2023. This marks a 70.37% increase.

The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) control banks' capacity to lend because it mandates that they keep a growing amount of local currency deposits with CBN, where the reserves are only accessible for intervention.

Here is the list of some Nigerian banks with the highest reserves

Zenith Bank - N3.90trn

Access Bank - N3.10trn

FBN Holdings - N2.08trn

United Bank for Africa - N2.68trn

Guaranty Trust Holdings - N1.64trn

Fidelity Bank - N1.17trn

First City Monument Bank - N776.54bn

Stanbic IBTC Holdings - N927.58bn

Sterling Bank - N450.29bn

Wema Bank - N503.25bn

At 45%, Nigeria's CRR is among the highest globally.

BEB