Investors behind a proposed finance house have demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria return N100.35 million paid for a licence, along with applicable interest, after the apex bank suspended processing of new finance house applications. The promoters of Coin Finance Company Ltd made the demand through Christopher Itua, the Promoter Representative, in a statement released on Sunday. The investors paid N100 million as a capital deposit, N100,000 as an application fee and N250,000 as a licensing fee on 16 July 2025, according to Itua.
The CBN informed the promoters in October 2025 that processing of new finance house applications had been suspended until further notice. Itua wrote to the CBN Department of Financial Policy and Regulation on 15 October 2025 requesting the return of the funds with applicable interest. The promoters later petitioned the CBN Consumer Protection Department on 18 May 2026 and sent a follow-up letter on 7 July, but said they had received neither a refund timeline nor a substantive response. According to Itua, the funds have remained with the CBN for over 14 months without the proposed institution progressing.
The investors are asking the CBN to calculate applicable interest on the N100.35 million from 16 July 2025, when the funds were deposited, until the date of release. Itua said the proposed finance house was designed to address a financing gap at the grassroots level and strengthen economic activity among small businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs. He noted that while the broader macroeconomic environment had improved, inadequate institutions serving small businesses remained a major constraint. The Finance House was intended to boost grassroots empowerment and support at the micro level, he said.
Itua said the prolonged retention of the capital had stalled the promoters' plans to establish the institution. He argued that the continued delay undermined the Federal Government's ease-of-doing-business initiatives. The promoters said they had submitted payment receipts, transaction documents and previous correspondence to support the request and had repeatedly used the CBN's established channels. Itua appealed to the CBN Governor to intervene and resolve the matter administratively, but said that if action was not taken, the promoters could pursue further administrative and legal channels, although they preferred to resolve the matter without escalation.