World Bank cuts CBN grant to $6.8m

The World Bank has cut planned grant to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from $10.50 million to $6.80 million.

In a report on its website, the multilateral institution, said board decision for the project slated for the fund deployment will now hold on March 27.

The grant is for the CBN Technical Assistance Facility, a project designed to strengthen the apex bank’s technology-enabled, data-driven supervision of the banking sector and to improve oversight of domestic payment and remittance systems.

Updated information from the World Bank website indicates that the project has reached the decision meeting stage, the final internal stage before approval by the World Bank Group’s board.) Reviews Tinubu’s Order To Civil Servants Abroad To Refund Salary, Others

The approval date is now listed as March 27, 2026, a shift from the earlier June 12, 2025, timeline associated with the initial $10.50m grant proposal.

The revised commitment amount of $6.80 million will be financed entirely through the Finance for Development Multi-Donor Trust Fund, with no involvement of the International Development Association or the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, confirming that the project does not add to Nigeria’s external debt.

The apex bank is listed as the implementing agency. According to the project overview, the facility is designed to integrate advanced tools and data science into the CBN’s regulatory and supervisory processes, addressing both long-standing and emerging risks in Nigeria’s evolving financial system.

The development objective is “to strengthen CBN’s technology-enabled and data-driven oversight of the banking sector and deepen understanding of payment and remittance systems in Nigeria,” the World Bank noted on its website.

The project carries a moderate environmental and social risk rating and is expected to close on February 28, 2029. While the updated information does not state why the grant size was cut, the progression from concept review to decision meeting suggests that the project has been refined, even as its financing envelope has been adjusted.

If approved next month, the grant will formalise a partnership focused on strengthening the CBN’s supervisory capacity through technology, data analytics, and improved oversight of the payment system in Africa’s largest economy.

The World Bank Group remains Nigeria’s largest single creditor, accounting for $19.39 billion of the country’s total external debt, comprising $18.04 billion from the IDA and $1.35 billion from the he International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). This represents 41.3 per cent of the country’s external debt, underscoring the bank’s dominant role in financing Nigeria’s development initiatives.