The Nigerian banking industry is on the last leg of the race to shore up its capital base in response to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s sweeping recapitalisation directive.
Announced in March 2024, the policy raised minimum capital thresholds across banking categories for the first time since 2004, forcing institutions to return to the market for fresh funds, restructure their balance sheets and rethink growth strategies ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
CBN, in its directive, mandated commercial banks with international authorisation to maintain a minimum paid-up capital of N500 billion, up from N50 billion previously.
National banks are required to have a capital base of N200 billion, up from N25 billion, while regional banks are required to have a capital base of N50 billion, up from N10 billion.
Merchant banks are also required to shore up their capital to N50 billion, up from N15 billion, and non-interest banks with a national licence are now to have a capital base of N20 billion, up from N10 billion. For regional non-interest banks, they are now to have a capital base of N10 billion, up from N5 billion.
With rising credit risks and persistent foreign exchange volatility that saw the value of the naira go from N450 to N1,450 per dollar, the CBN had insisted that the exercise was aimed at strengthening financial system stability and positioning banks to better support economic growth.
At the moment, 23 banks have met the new capital base. Leading the charge are the tier-one international banks, many of which have already crossed the N500 billion mark through a mix of rights issues, public offers, private placements and internal restructuring.
Zenith Bank stands out after its public offer was heavily oversubscribed, contributing N350.46 billion to its capital base. The raise pushed Zenith’s total capital to N614.65 billion, comfortably above the regulatory threshold, underscoring strong investor confidence in the lender’s leadership and performance.
Access Bank was the first Nigerian bank to meet the new requirement, raising N351 billion through a massive rights issue in late 2024. The exercise, which involved the issuance of 17.77 billion shares at N19.75 each, lifted its share capital above N600 billion, well ahead of the March 2026 deadline. The early compliance strengthened Access Bank’s balance sheet and reinforced its ambition to expand across Nigeria and the broader African market.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc also completed the recapitalisation of its banking subsidiary through a two-phase equity programme approved by shareholders. In July 2024, GTCO raised N209.41 billion via a public offer, followed by an additional N365.85 billion injected through a rights issue in August 2025. The moves lifted GTBank’s paid-up share capital to N504.04 billion, just above the regulatory minimum.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited achieved compliance through a combination of a rights issue, private placement and proceeds from the divestment of its merchant banking subsidiary. According to the bank, the strategy reflects investor confidence in its business model and positions it to deepen financial inclusion, expand technology-driven services and accelerate support for the real sector.
United Bank for Africa Plc crossed the threshold following the completion of the second tranche of its rights issue. From a share capital and premium position of about N350 billion as at its 2025 half-year results, the bank received an additional N157 billion after Securities and Exchange Commission approval, pushing it above N500 billion.
The chairman, Tony Elumelu, had earlier assured shareholders that UBA would meet the requirement before the third quarter of 2025, a promise the bank has now fulfilled.
Fidelity Bank Plc adopted a different route, opting for a N259 billion private placement of ordinary shares. The placement, approved by regulators and concluded on 31 December 2025, lifted the bank’s eligible capital from N305.5 billion to N564.5 billion, marking a significant milestone in its recapitalisation drive and placing it well above the minimum requirement.
Sterling Bank raised capital through a combination of rights issues, public offers and private placements, adopting a phased approach to strengthen its paid-up capital.
Existing shareholders were offered new shares in proportion to their holdings through a rights issue, enabling them to maintain or increase their stakes while directly boosting equity. This was followed by a public offer of ordinary shares by Sterling HoldCo, which raised about N88.07 billion, with a significant portion of the proceeds deployed to recapitalise the bank and close its capital shortfall under the new regulatory regime.
Among national banks, compliance has also gathered pace. Ecobank Nigeria has met the N200 billion requirement, supported by capital-raising efforts at the group level by its parent, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. ETI has pursued additional Tier 1 capital through a private placement of contingent convertible notes.
Similarly, Ecobank Nigeria has demonstrated prudent capital management by fully repaying a $300 million Eurobond ahead of maturity.
Premium Trust Bank has emerged as one of the fastest-growing lenders, reaching the N200 billion mark, becoming only the third national bank to do so.
Its chief executive, Emmanuel Efe Emefienim, described the achievement as a defining moment for a bank that only began operations in 2022, noting that the stronger capital base would support lending to infrastructure and agriculture.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings met the requirement in mid-2025 through an oversubscribed rights issue that raised N148.7 billion.
For Wema Bank, it combined a N150 billion rights issue with a N50 billion private placement to significantly increase its capital base above the threshold. Both banks cited strong shareholder confidence and the need to support digital expansion and small and medium-scale enterprises.
Non-interest banks have also moved swiftly. Jaiz Bank, Lotus Bank, TAJBank and The Alternative Bank have all crossed the N20 billion minimum, with Jaiz outlining plans to raise its capital to N100 billion within a year and N200 billion over three years to support expansion within Africa. TAJBank said early compliance would enhance its ability to drive financial inclusion and deliver innovative Shari’ah-compliant solutions.
Merchant and regional banks, including Greenwich Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria and Nova Bank, have equally met their respective N50 billion requirements, reinforcing confidence in the segment.
FCMB Group is among those in advanced stages of capital raising and regulatory verification. Shareholders of FCMB Group Plc at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) recently approved an increase in capital raise of up to N400 billion to enable it to retain its international banking licence ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
Group Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Ladi Balogun, noted that “the additional capital will be deployed to strengthen our capital adequacy ratio and accelerate growth.”
Commenting on the bank’s capital-raising measures, players in the Nigerian capital market noted that the amount of capital the banks had raised through various instruments, such as private placements, rights issues, and public offers, demonstrated not only the depth of the Nigerian market but also investors’ confidence in the economy.
According to the managing director and chief executive of Arthur Stevens Asset Management Limited, Olatunde Amolegbe, the fact that these banks have been able to use the instruments of the capital markets to meet regulatory capital requirements confirms the absorptive capacity of the primary market.
“The new issuances should also help deepen the liquidity of the secondary market. So it has been a positive development for the capital market in general,” he added.
On his part, the chief executive of Globalview Capital Limited, Aruna Kebira, said the banks had, through their capital-raising measures, brought more funds into the system.
“The banks were given what the Central Bank told the banks, which is that they should not use their reserves, because reserves do not actually guarantee whether the money is there.
“They were asked not to use reserves. Sometimes they have revaluation reserves that don’t exist. So they were given the option to use private placement, a rights issue or a public offer. Through those channels, they are actually bringing money into the system,” Kebira said.
With over 20 of the banks already having raised enough capital to cross the recapitalisation threshold, Kebira said it showed “that investors still have confidence, not just in our banks, but in the market, because they know invariably that these shares are going to be listed at the NGX, where they can trade them.”
“Another is that they still have confidence in the economy, because if they were not able to raise these sums, what would have happened is mergers and acquisitions or orderly exit from the system, to ensure that there is confidence in the system.
“For an investor, whether an institutional investor or whatever investor it is, to be able to put that kind of money in a bank means there is serious confidence in the economy, serious confidence in the sector, the banking sector, and serious confidence in the capital market,” he added.
Credit: Leadership