How to lodge a complaint against your bank

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, released a guide on how and where you can lodge a complaint against financial institutions it regulates such as Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMBs) and Merchant banks.

In 2011, the CBN in a circular directed all banks to expand their existing Automated Teller Machine (ATM) help desk to handle all types of consumer complaints.

Contact your institution first

Consequently, if you have a complaint against your bank, you must first report the complaint at the bank/branch where the issue originated and then allow two weeks (it might be less or more in some cases) for the issues to be resolved.

If your bank fails to resolve your complaint

You have the right to escalate your complaint to the Director, Consumer Protection Department (CPD) of the CBN after lodging your complaint, when your bank fails to acknowledge within three days or issue a tracking number, or fails to resolve the complaint within the timelines as stipulated by the Consumer Protection Regulation (CPR).

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Complaints to Consumer Protection Department

You can only direct your Complaints to CPD upon the failure of your Bank/ Financial Institution to resolve your complaint within the timeline stipulated by the Consumer Protection Regulation (CPR).

Contacting Consumer Protection Department (CPD)

You can contact the CPD through the following channels: [email protected], letter to the director, Consumer Protection Department Garki, Abuja.

Your letter of Complaint should be addressed to the director, Consumer Protection Department. You can submit your letter at the CBN head office or at any of the CBN branches nationwide,

The CBN deals with all financial related complaints insofar as it is against a Financial Institution within its regulatory purview.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.