The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all licensed banks, payment service banks and other regulated financial institutions to withdraw any ongoing advertisement or promotional material that breaches transparency and consumer-protection standards.
News360 Info reports that the directive, issued via an industry circular on Thursday, was signed by Olubunmi Ayodele-Oni, representing the Compliance Department of the CBN.
The apex regulator explained that a thematic industry review, benchmarked against the Consumer Protection Regulations 2019 and the Advertising Guidelines for Deposit-Taking Institutions 2000, exposed persistent violations in advertising disclosures and fair-marketing communication.
According to the CBN, several institutions were found publishing marketing materials that exaggerate product benefits, conceal or diminish consumer risk warnings, use obscured disclosures, or rely on unaudited financial statements to promote regulated products.
The regulator noted that these practices mislead consumers, distort healthy market competition and erode public trust in the financial system.
It stressed that every advert, whether digital or traditional, must remain factual, balanced and transparent.
The circular also banned all adverts that contain comparative claims, exaggerated superlatives or statements interpreted as de-marketing, either by context, framing or implication.
The regulator further prohibited promotional inducement schemes built on chance-based outcomes, including lotteries, lucky dips, prize draws and similar engagement formats, stating that these mechanisms could pressure consumers into financial commitments without understanding product risk depth or implications.
In the circular, the CBN stated that institutions must now submit an advert-notification filing to the bank before releasing any marketing campaign to the public.
The regulator said the notification must clearly detail the run duration of the advert, provide creative content intended for publication, indicate target demographic segments or consumer clusters, define the geographical area of exposure, and include documented evidence that the advertised product has received regulatory product clearance by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s product-approval committee or framework.
The apex bank also emphasised that institutions must submit signed internal governance confirmation of marketing clearance from both their legal and compliance departments, stating categorically that the notification process does not amount to prior approval or endorsement of the advertisement, and that institutions would remain solely responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory obligations and national consumer-advertising laws.
This step, according to the regulator, is for monitoring, risk-communication alignment and governance tracking, not promotional approval.
The circular further noted that institutions are required to submit compliance attestation letters co-signed by their Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer, Executive Compliance Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, confirming that their current advertising practices meet consumer-protection disclosure obligations, regulatory governance guardrails, internal compliance frameworks and national advertising laws.
News360 Info reports that the regulator warned that non-compliant institutions face sanctions from January 2026 and that a follow-up industry audit, communication review and compliance assessment would commence in January 2026 to gauge strict adherence across the sector.
It referenced enforcement provisions under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, adding that penalties would align with the regulatory-sanctioning structure of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, responsibility and transparent consumer communication in the financial system.
