By Onu Okorie

Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria closed a net 476 branches and cash centres between 2022 and 2025, representing an 8.8 per cent decline in their physical banking presence nationwide.
The development is contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s CBN 2025 Statistical Bulletin for the Financial Sector, obtained from the apex bank’s website.
The bulletin also showed that the number of bank branches and cash centres fell from 5,410 in 2022 to 4,934 in 2025.
The contraction occurred despite an increase in the number of banks operating in the country for most of the period, pointing to a gradual shift from traditional brick-and-mortar banking towards digital platforms, electronic payments and other alternative banking channels.
According to the data, physical banking locations declined by 37 in 2023, from 5,410 to 5,373. The reduction accelerated in 2024, when banks closed 229 locations, bringing the total down to 5,144.
A further 210 locations were lost in 2025, reducing the nationwide total to 4,934.
Consequently, about 92 per cent of the total 476-location decline recorded between 2022 and 2025 occurred in 2024 and 2025.
The CBN said the figures covered branches and cash centres operated by commercial, merchant and non-interest banks, with the data sourced from the apex bank and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Despite the decline in physical outlets, the number of banks increased from 32 in 2022 to 33 in 2023 and 35 in 2024, before dropping slightly to 34 in 2025. Nigerian banks operating abroad maintained two branches throughout the period.
Analysis of the data showed that Lagos recorded the largest absolute decline in banking locations during the period. The country’s major commercial and financial hub had 1,602 branches and cash centres in 2022. The figure dropped to 1,532 in 2023, 1,521 in 2024 and 1,444 in 2025.
This represents a net loss of 158 locations, or 9.9 per cent, over the three-year period.
Lagos alone accounted for about one-third of the nationwide reduction. Despite the decline, the state continued to dominate Nigeria’s physical banking infrastructure, with its 1,444 locations accounting for about 29 per cent of the national total in 2025.
The Federal Capital Territory also recorded a significant reduction, with its banking locations falling from 400 in 2022 and 2023 to 391 in 2024 and 362 in 2025. The decline amounted to 38 locations, or 9.5 per cent.
Ekiti recorded one of the sharpest percentage declines, as its banking locations fell from 107 in 2022 to 57 in 2025, representing a 46.7 per cent reduction.
Enugu followed, losing 44 locations as its total dropped from 162 to 118, while Oyo recorded a decline of 41 locations, from 237 to 196.
Other states with notable reductions included Ondo, which fell from 127 to 105 locations; Plateau, from 80 to 61; Osun, from 113 to 96; Cross River, from 83 to 67; and Rivers, from 290 to 275.
The contraction was also recorded in some major northern commercial centres. Kano initially recorded growth, with its banking locations rising from 164 in 2022 to 175 in 2023 and 183 in 2024. However, the number fell sharply to 157 in 2025, leaving the state with seven fewer locations than it had in 2022.
Kaduna followed a similar pattern, increasing from 148 locations in 2022 to 156 in 2023 and 164 in 2024 before declining to 146 in 2025.
Delta recorded the largest increase among the states listed, adding 23 locations to rise from 173 in 2022 to 196 in 2025. Edo increased from 155 to 165, while Jigawa rose from 31 to 37 and Kogi from 63 to 68.
The CBN figures also revealed significant disparities in the distribution of physical banking infrastructure across the country.
While Lagos had 1,444 branches and cash centres in 2025, Yobe had only 23, Taraba 26 and Zamfara 28. Bayelsa and Gombe had 31 each, while Ebonyi recorded 32.
The figures underscore the growing concentration of physical banking facilities in major economic centres, even as digital banking and electronic payment platforms continue to expand across the country.
The development comes amid the CBN’s push for greater adoption of alternative payment channels as a means of improving financial inclusion and stimulating economic activity.
Speaking at the 2026 CBN Fair in Lokoja, Kogi State, Acting Director of the CBN’s Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, said alternative payment channels were particularly important to farmers, traders, small businesses and informal-sector operators who may have limited access to conventional banking services.
Sidi-Ali, who was represented by the CBN Lokoja Branch Controller, Zubairu Salihu, said wider adoption of alternative payment channels would help expand access to financial services across the country.
The continued reduction in physical bank outlets, alongside the expansion of digital financial services, suggests that Nigeria’s banking sector is increasingly moving towards a model in which electronic channels complement—or in some cases replace—traditional branches and cash centres.