There are a lot of banks in Nigeria with the central bank being the Apex bank in the country or the Bank of bankers. The Central bank of Nigeria ensures smooth operations and regulates banking activities in the country. In my previous post, I shared everything you need to know about the Central bank of Nigeria. However, in this post, I’ll share a list of government Banks in Nigeria.

There are a lot of banks in Nigeria, each having a specific purpose they operate on. The banks listed on this post were curated and taken into account other Banks that merged in the past or were acquired by other Banks.

Banking in Nigeria has gone beyond a mere avenue for safeguarding funds and for executing transactional purposes. In reality, it has become a huge industry contributing immensely to the country’s economic footing.

While the history of concrete banking in Nigeria dates back to the establishment of Nigeria’s oldest bank, present-day First Bank of Nigeria, it’s fascinating to see how banking has metamorphosed into a giant industry with a host of banks making dramatic waves.

As it stands, there are well over 20 consolidated banks in Nigeria and these banks fall under categories depending on their modes of operation. Above all, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is regarded as Nigeria’s apex bank for its regulatory authority over the other banks in the country.

Currently, there are 22 “CBN-authorized” commercial banks in Nigeria. While most of these commercial banks hold licenses for operation only within Nigeria, several others are authorized to operate beyond Nigeria and a few of them operate only in certain Nigerian regions.
An analysis of the banking industry shows that Nigeria has 8 internationally authorized commercial banks, 11 nationally authorized commercial banks, 3 regionally authorized commercial banks, 5 merchant banks and 2 non-interest banks.

JAIZ Bank Plc and TAJBank Limited seem to be the only two Nigerian banks operating on a zero-interest basis. However, JAIZ Bank is the only non-interest Nigerian bank with CBN-granted national authorization.

This post contains a complete list of “authorized” Nigerian banks with essential details (in specific cases) including their official website links and telephone contacts. However, for clarity  purpose  Here are the Top 5 Richest Banks in Nigeria you must Know

List Of Government Banks In Nigeria

1. Access Bank Plc: A commercial bank launched in 1990. Access Bank, is a Nigerian multinational commercial bank, owned by Access Bank Group. Originally a corporate bank, the organization acquired personal and business banking platforms from Nigeria’s International Commercial bank in 2012.
2. Citibank Nigeria Limited: Citibank is the consumer division of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City Bank of New York. 
3. Ecobank Nigeria Plc: Ecobank Nigeria, is a commercial bank in Nigeria. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator.
4. Fidelity Bank Plc: Fidelity Bank Plc., is a commercial bank in Nigeria. It is licensed as a commercial bank with international authorization, by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the central bank and national banking regulator. 
5. First Bank Nigeria Limited (FBN): FirstBank, is a Nigerian multinational bank and financial services company headquartered in Lagos. It is the biggest bank in Nigeria by total deposits and gross earnings. 
6. First City Monument Bank Plc: First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd is a banking group, headquartered in Lagos. As of December 2019, the bank’s total assets were valued at US$4.4 billion (NGN: 1.7 trillion)
7. Globaus Bank Limited: 
8. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc: GTBank or simply GTB is a Nigerian multinational financial institution, that offers online/internet banking, retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and asset management services, with its head office in Victoria Island, Lagos.
9. Heritage Banking Company Limited: Heritage Bank or simply HB, is a financial services institution. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria
10. Keystone Bank: Keystone Bank offers banking services to large corporations, public institutions, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and individuals. The bank is a large financial services provider in Nigeria.
11. Polaris Bank: Polaris Bank is a large financial services provider in West Africa and Central Africa. With headquarters in Nigeria, the bank maintains subsidiaries in Sierra Leone, the Gambia, the Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
12. Providus Bank: Providus Bank Limited (PBL), is a Nigerian financial services provider, licensed as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the central bank and national banking regulator.
13. Stanbic IBTC Bank Ltd: Stanbic IBTC, is a financial service holding company in Nigeria with subsidiaries in banking, stock brokerage, investment advisory, pension, and trustee businesses. 
14. Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Ltd:
15. Sterling Bank Plc: Sterling Bank Plc, which is a full service national commercial bank is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
16. SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited: SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited (STBNL), is a Nigerian financial services provider, licensed as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the central bank and national banking regulator.
17. Titan trust Bank Ltd: 
18. Union Bank for Africa Plc: Union Bank is a large commercial bank, serving individuals, small and medium-sized companies, as well as large corporations and organizations.
19. United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, is a leading pan-African financial services group headquartered in Nigeria. It is one of Africa’s best and most resilient banking Groups with operations in 20 African countries and offices in three global financial centers: London, Paris, and New York.
20. Unity Bank Plc: Unity Bank is a large financial services provider in Nigeria. Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. Unity Bank also maintains an operations base in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
21. Zenith Bank Plc: Zenith Bank is a large financial service provider in Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa. It is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator. 

COMPLETE TABLE SHOWING ALL THE BANKS NAMES IN NIGERIA INCLUDING THEIR ADDRESSES.

Conclusion

Due to an Act signed by the apex bank in Nigeria, most banks were forced to merge with other banks in order to continue operation. This has greatly reduced the number of banks in the country. The banks listed above are currently the top commercial banks in Nigeria.