In a bid not to be caught napping, Nigerian banks have rolled out various strategies to meet the March 31 recapitalisation deadline, Blueprint.ng correspondent writes
With about a month to the deadline issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for new capital requirements in Nigeria’s banking sector, there are indications that about 13 banks are still struggling to meet the apex bank’s new minimum capital requirement.
An official confirmation revealed that no fewer than 20 commercial banks have met the recapitalisation thresholds set for the exercise at the last counting
The recapitalisation exercise, which started in 2024, sets N500 billion for commercial banks with international authorisation, N200 billion for national banks, and N50 billion for regional banks.
Similarly, while the non-interest banks, under national category are expected to recapitalise with N20 billion, regional banks must ultimately increase the capital to N10 billion. On the same vein Merchant banks expected to raise their capital to N50 billion at the conclude of exercise
No doubt, the deadline of 31st March 2026 has placed many banks under pressure to scramble for funds. Available records indicate that some of the banks have raised additional funds through the capital market, two banks entered into merger discussions with others preferring to embrace a private placement strategy to raise more capital and increase their capital base.
Banks with minimum capital requirements
As the deadline approaches, it became clearer that six banks operating under international category have already scaled the recapitalisation hurdles. Among those emerging as top performers to hit the financial benchmark are Zenith Bank, GTCO Plc, FirstBank Nigeria Ltd, UBA, Fidelity Bank and Access Bank.
Also, available data confirmed that under the National banking licence, Wema Bank, Citibank Nigeria, Ecobank Nigeria, Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Globus Bank, Premium Trust Bank have raised their capital above the required N200 billion threshold.
Providus Bank and Unity Bank, both have secured national licence through merger, becoming the first financial institutions to go into a merger arrangement in order to meet the stipulated requirements.
The report revealed that Merchant banks, FSDH Merchant Bank, Greenwich Merchant Bank, Nova Bank, and Rand Merchant Bank have met the minimum capital requirements ahead of the deadline.
On the Non-interest banks’ new capital requirements category: it has also been confirmed that Jaiz Bank, TAJBank and The Alternative Bank have all beefed up their capital base ahead of the March 31 deadline.
Bank recapitalisation process
A careful scrutiny of the ongoing recapitalisation process indicates that Access Bank raised about N351 billion through the right issue to reach a new capital base of N500 billion. Of note is the fact that with a combined share premium, the bank paid up capital rose to N602.8 billion, exceeding the CBN requirement by N102.8 billion.
On its part, Zenith Bank also raised N350 billion through the combination of right issues and public offering from the capital market to bring its capital base to N614 billion, surpassing the CBN minimum capital requirements for international banks.
For FirstBank , banking subsidiary of FirstHoldco, the minimum capital requirement of N500 billion was achieved through the completion of right issues, a private placement and injection of proceeds from the divestment of the Group’s merchant banking subsidiary.
Not left out of this large players’ league is Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) which pushed up its capital through a multi-tranche equity program, raising N209 billion in its first phase. Additionally, the recent private placement of N10 billion further boosted GTBank’s paid up capital to over N504 billion, thereby meeting the CBN new capital requirement policy.
United Bank for Africa (UBA), which raised N178.3 billion through a right issue, and with N239 billion injection completed in November 2024 lifted its capital to N355.2 billion. The combined transactions provided an opportunity for the lconcludeer to meet CBN N500 billion capitalisation under international category.
Fidelity Bank also joined the league of banks that scale new capital requirements ahead of the deadline. Through a private placement, the Bank raised N305.5 billion, bringing its new capital base to N564.5 billion.
In the same vein, Wema Bank announced the completion of its recapitalisation exercise by raising N150 billion through a right issue of 14.29 billion shares at N10.45 per share.
Citibank Nigeria Plc also stated it had successfully met the new minimum capital requirement of N200 billion for national commercial banks but did not disclose the process involved in raising the fund.
In November 2025, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria had gone public with the announcement that it had met the N200 billion capital threshold through support from its UK-based parent while Globus Bank, apart from raising N52.9 billion in 2024 to lift its capital base to N98.6 billion, relied on rights issues and private placements of N102 billion to meet its capital requirements for national banking licence ahead of the CBN deadline.
Equally scaling the capital threshold set for national banks, are Stanbic IBTC which raised N200 billion through a rights issue and a direct capital injection by its parent company and
Premium Trust Bank that announced with glee the N200 billion minimum capital requirement for National Commercial Banks has already been met ahead of the CBN’s stipulated deadline.
Ecobank Nigeria stated its minimum paid up capital requirements came through injection of funds from its parent company Ecobank Transnational incorporated while
Unity Bank and Providus on their part stated the national banking licence requirement was secured through the process of merger transactions.
The list of other financial institutions that have met the new capital requirement include merchant banks such as FSDH Merchant Bank, Greenwich Merchant Bank, Nova Bank, and Rand Merchant Bank.
On the list of Non-interest banks are Jaiz Bank, Lotus Bank, TAJBank, and the Alternative Bank that have beefed up their capital ahead of the recapitalisation deadline.
Operators’ view
With all eyes on the March 31 deadline, financial experts are upbeat that the CBN new recapitalisation policy is cheering news for the stability of Nigeria’s banking sector.
Commenting on the development and banks’ effort at creating the list of players in the indusattempt, a financial analyst, Mr Godwin Enachebe stated bank recapitalisation will no doubt promote a more stable financial system that is less susceptible to shocks, losses and bank runs.
The process, according to him, will attract significant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as the funds raised by banks to attain new capitalisation have the capacity to stimulate economic growth through enhanced lconcludeing capacity.
He stated, “a well capitalised banking indusattempt will improve international credibility and boost our nation’s capital market.”
In his intervention, the Group Chief Economist and Managing Director, Research and Trade Ininformigence at Afreximbank, Dr. Yemi Kale, stated: “Recapitalisation of the banks is important. You cannot lconclude to businesses to grow, expand or import machinery if you do not have enough capital.”
“How do Nigerian banks support deepening intra-African trade if they do not have enough capital?” he queried.
Speaking during the Ecobank Customer Forum in Lagos, Kale stated increasing banks’ capital base would expand their capacity to finance domestic businesses, scale export-oriented production and support SMEs seeking to integrate into regional value chains.
“By increasing recapitalisation, you increase the ability of banks to lconclude more to domestic businesses and exporters. There are significant benefits for the Nigerian economy, especially in improving intra-African trade,” he added.
Kale also linked Nigeria’s long-term growth ambition, including the federal government’s $1 trillion economy tarobtain to improvements in competitiveness and production efficiency.
According to him; “There are two ways to grow: You produce goods and services and sell them to consumers within Nigeria, across the continent, and preferably outside the continent. But the only way you can sell goods outside Nigeria is if they are competitive.”
Furthermore, he stated, “Reducing structural bottlenecks in infrastructure, regulation, and logistics would lower production costs, moderate inflation and raise purchasing power.
“If you resolve the Ease of Doing Business, you reduce the cost of production. Goods become cheaper, inflation comes down, and purchasing power improves.
“Higher demand leads to higher production, more jobs and more income. That is how you significantly grow the economy and shift towards a $1 trillion tarobtain,” Kale explained.
Regulator’s perspective
Clearly revealing no willingness to back down on its deadline, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has not minced words in warning that the apex bank will strictly enforce stronger governance, greater transparency, and firmer accountability to safeguard the funds raised.
He disclosed that several banks have already exceeded the new thresholds, while others are progressing steadily and are well positioned to meet the deadline.
“Banks meeting or exceeding the new requirements is a clear testament to the depth, resilience, and capacity of Nigeria’s banking sector,” Cardoso stated.
He further stated that: “As part of broader reforms, the CBN has established a dedicated Compliance Department, now fully operational, with responsibilities covering financial crime supervision, market conduct, enterprise security, corporate governance, and environmental, social, and governance principles.”
For Cardoso, the process of enforcing stronger controls over raised funds is ongoing, with a redesigned credit-risk framework expected to ensure prudent deployment of new capital, noting that, “In the past, post-recapitalisation liquidity often led to aggressive risk-taking, raising concerns about loan quality and asset deterioration.”
The CBN Governor stated to guard against a repeat performance, the apex bank is determined to avoid the boom-and-bust cycles that have characterised previous recapitalisation exercises.
He assured that the web-enabled CBN Credit Risk Management System now allows banks and stakeholders to directly access borrower information, while ongoing integration with banks’ internal systems is expected to further enhance efficiency.
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