Following several reforms in the financial sector, bank and other allied institutions, including insurance companies, contributed N3.43 trillion to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first half of this year, latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows.

The amount represents an increase of 15.6 per cent, or N461.65 billion, when compared with the N2.97 trillion that the financial institutions contributed to GDP in the corresponding period of 2024.

New Telegraph’s analysis of the “Nigerian GDP Report Q2’25,” recently released by the NBS, indicates that banks and other financial institutions, including insurance, contributed N1.78 trillion to the country’s real GDP, in the first quarter of 2025, and N1.65 trillion in Q2’25, as against N1.55 trillion and N1.42 trillion in Q1’24 and Q2’24 respectively.

Further analysis of the NBS report shows that while banks and other financial institutions contributed a total of N3.07 trillion to GDP in the first six months of this year, the insurance sector contributed N363.182 billion. The report stated: “The Finance and Insurance Sector consists of the two subsectors, Financial Institutions, and Insurance, in which the former accounted for 87.97 per cent and the latter 12.03 per cent of the sector respectively in real terms in Q2 2025.

The sector grew at 63.66 per cent in nominal terms (yearon-year), with the growth rate of Financial Institutions at 65.24 per cent and 53.00 per cent growth rate recorded for Insurance. “The overall rate was higher than Q2 2024 by 30.96 per cent points, and higher by 42.65 per cent points than the preceding quarter. The quarter-on quarter growth was 59.54 per cent.

The sector’s contribution to the nominal GDP was 4.57 per cent in Q2 2025, higher than the 3.33 per cent it represented a year previous, and higher than the contribution of 3.07 per cent it made in the preceding quarter.”