The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reduced its personnel expenses by more than N193 billion in 2025. This reduction followed the implementation of its voluntary Early Exit Programme, which saw 1,000 staff members resign as part of a restructuring process driven by digitisation.
According to the CBN’s 2025 audited financial statements, personnel expenses for the Bank declined by N193.14 billion, or 32.4%, to N402.76 billion in 2025 from N595.90 billion in 2024. At the Group level, personnel expenses fell by N192.29 billion, or 31.6%, to N416.26 billion from N608.55 billion a year earlier.
The workforce restructuring was introduced under Governor Olayemi Cardoso to improve operational efficiency and reposition the apex bank. The transition to a tech-driven banking model aimed to address redundancies across various departments.
Breakdown of Personnel Cost Reductions
A detailed breakdown of the financial statements shows that the most significant reduction came from other staff expenses. For the Bank, other staff expenses dropped sharply to N86.27 billion in 2025 from N305.52 billion in 2024. However, other staff allowances increased to N225.97 billion from N191.82 billion.
Defined benefit plan expenses for the Bank declined to N28.21 billion from N36.58 billion. Wages and salaries eased slightly to N43.92 billion from N44.49 billion, while pension costs under the defined contribution scheme rose marginally to N18.39 billion from N17.49 billion.
At the Group level, other staff expenses declined to N87.13 billion from N306.63 billion, while staff allowances increased to N226.07 billion from N191.95 billion. Defined benefit plan expenses fell to N28.21 billion from N36.58 billion, wages and salaries declined to N56.23 billion from N55.62 billion, and pension costs increased to N18.62 billion from N17.78 billion.
Rising Employee Benefit Liabilities
Despite the lower annual personnel expenses, employee benefit obligations increased significantly. The CBN’s employee benefit liabilities rose to N206.09 billion for the Bank from N80.40 billion in 2024, while the Group’s liabilities climbed to N212.28 billion from N79.23 billion.
This increase was driven largely by post-employment gratuity liabilities. These liabilities rose to N240.32 billion for the Bank and N248.12 billion for the Group.
Operating Costs and Currency Printing Surge
The decline in payroll expenses did not translate into lower overall operating costs, as other expenditure categories increased substantially. For the Bank, currency issue expenses rose by 83.8% to N579.21 billion from N315.18 billion, while the Group recorded a 94.5% increase to N464.13 billion from N238.65 billion. These expenses relate to the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of currency notes.
As a result, the Bank spent N176.45 billion more on currency issue expenses than on personnel costs during the year. The Group spent N47.87 billion more on currency issuance than on staff expenses.
Other operating expenses also surged. For the Bank, they increased to N1.56 trillion from N248.31 billion, while the Group’s other operating expenses rose to N1.66 trillion from N312.67 billion. Consequently, total operating expenses more than doubled to N2.60 trillion for the Bank and N2.61 trillion for the Group.
Despite these higher expenses, the Bank reported a profit of N86.81 billion in 2025. The Group recorded a profit of N136.44 billion, up from N38.84 billion in 2024.
