The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has  announced the revocation of the operating licences of forty-six microfinance banks.

According to a statement signed by the apex bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, the move takes immediate effect.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operating licences of forty-six (46) Microfinance Banks with effect from July 1, 2026, in accordance with its powers under Sections 12 and 13 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020,” the statement published on the CBN’s website read in part.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso approved the revocation following the banks’ failure to meet regulatory requirements for continued operation as licensed financial institutions.

“According to the revocation order, the action became necessary because of one or more of the circumstances listed below: i. Insufficient assets to meet liabilities; ii. Closure of operations without the CBN’s approval; iii. Inactivity and cessation of financial intermediation; iv. Failure to commence operations within 12 months of licence approval; and v. Failure to maintain minimum capital funds unimpaired by losses,” the bank said.

The revocation of the licences is part of the CBN’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the stability of the financial sector, protect depositors, and ensure that licensed institutions comply with current laws and regulatory requirements.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria remains committed to promoting a safe, sound, and resilient financial system and will continue to take appropriate supervisory and regulatory actions, where necessary, to maintain public confidence in the Nigerian financial system,” the bank added.

CBN Licence Revocation: See Full List Of Affected Microfinance Banks

Below is a full list of the microfinance banks with their operating licences revoked:

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has directed banks, payment service banks, and other financial institutions to immediately freeze all accounts, assets, and transactions linked to six individuals and four Bureau de Change, BDC operators designated for terrorism financing.

The directive was contained in a circular dated June 24, 2026 (Ref:CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011).

According to the apex bank, the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, effective June 18, 2026, is binding on all regulated institutions and requires immediate implementation.

The CBN directed financial institutions to “identify and immediately freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and other economic resources belonging to, owned, held, or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the designated persons and entities.”

This comes after the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC, announced the sanctions on a Nigerian, Mukhtar Adamu, and three bureau de change companies over their alleged involvement in financing the terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

In a followup, the Nigerian government released the names of six persons and three entities sanctioned for terrorism financing.

The Federal Government list indicated Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed, Adamu Hammajam, Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited, and Nine to Nine BDC Limited.

Reacting to the development, the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, said the indictment should not rob all BDC operators in Nigeria.

“The overwhelming majority of licensed BDC operators comply with Nigerian laws and regulatory requirements,” he said.

The federal government is considering the reinvigoration of the cashless policy as part of broader efforts to curb the rising wave of kidnappings and related criminal activities across the country.

The consideration of strengthening the policy comes amid intensified efforts by security agencies to dismantle kidnapping syndicates and cut off their sources of funding, as authorities continue to seek sustainable solutions to the country’s security challenges.

Report quoted top security sources as mentioning that senior government officials have advised authorities at the highest level to tighten the policy, which is being viewed as one of the strategies to disrupt the operations of kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups.

According to the sources, the move is intended to make it more difficult for criminals to receive ransom payments, which are often demanded and collected in cash to avoid detection.

One of the sources said: “Criminals prefer to receive ransom payments in cash because the money cannot be traced. Once ransom is paid through the banking system, it becomes easier to track them.”

Introduced in 2011, the policy was strengthened and made stricter in December 2022. However, after 2023, many of the stricter guidelines were relaxed.

The source further stated that security agencies believe a stricter cashless regime would strengthen intelligence gathering and improve law enforcement’s ability to monitor suspicious financial transactions linked to kidnapping networks.