The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is empowered by Section 8 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 (BOFIA) to mandate foreign bank to seek prior approval of the CBN before they can operate in Nigeria. This provision, coupled with requests from foreign banks, law firms, financial consultants, among others, on the requirements for operating representative offices of foreign banks in Nigeria, has made it pertinent to develop Guidelines prescribing the regulatory requirements.

Accordingly, the draft Guidelines has been developed to provide guidance to stakeholders, particularly foreign banks, seeking to operate in Nigeria.

An exposure draft of the Guidelines is hereby issued for comments and observations. The document may be accessed from the Bank’s website

Your comments should be addressed to the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, CBN, with soft copies sent via email to fprd_[email protected] within three (3) weeks from the date of this circular.

Download Exposure Draft Here