The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered all banks and other regulated financial institutions to immediately withdraw any advert that fails to meet consumer-protection and fair-marketing standards.
The directive was issued in a circular on Thursday and signed by Olubunmi Ayodele-Oni on behalf of the Director of the CBN’s Compliance Department.
It follows a review that found widespread problems with how institutions handle disclosure, transparency and fair marketing.
“New compliance steps for all advertisements. Under the tightened framework, financial institutions must now submit detailed notifications to the CBN before releasing any advert or marketing material,” the statement read.
According to the CBN, many adverts still exaggerate benefits, hide key information, downplay risks or rely on unaudited financial statements—practices the bank says mislead customers and distort competition.
The apex bank has now banned comparative or de-marketing claims in adverts, as well as promotional inducements such as lotteries, lucky dips and prize draws, warning that such schemes can pressure consumers into uninformed decisions.
Under the new rules, financial institutions must notify the CBN before releasing any advert, providing details such as duration, creative content, target audience, and internal legal and compliance clearance.
They must also prove that the advertised product has been approved by the regulator.
The CBN has given institutions 30 days to submit a compliance attestation signed by their top executives, and says it will conduct a follow-up industry review in January 2026, with sanctions for any institution that violates the rules.
