CBN: Eight Banks Meet Recapitalisation Threshold

Eight banks have successfully met the new minimum capital requirements stipulated for their licenses, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed yesterday.

Banks started raising funds last year to meet the CBN’s recapitalization requirement which has a March 2026 deadline.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja at the conclusion of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Governor of CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, said many banks had made significant progress in strengthening their capital base to align with the new regulatory threshold.

“The MPC noted that eight banks have fully met the recapitalisation requirements, while others are making progress towards meeting the deadline,” Cardoso said.

Under the ongoing recapitalisation programme launched in March 2024, the apex bank adopted a distinctive definition of minimum capital base, in addition of paid up share capital and share premium, excluding other reserves and retained profits.

The distinctive definition implied that nearly all banks have to raise new capital, despite the fact that most banks have shareholders’ funds in excess of the minimum capital base.

Particularly, commercial banks with international licenses are required to have minimum share capital and share premium of N500 billion, while others with national banking licenses are required to have minimum share capital and share premium of N200 billion by the deadline of March 31, 2026.

The initial fund raising by banks had recorded huge success with most offers oversubscribed. Banks raised more than N2 trillion in 2024.

With less than nine months to the March 31, 2026 deadline, many banks are preparing to raise new capital, including some tier-1 banks that had participated in the 2024 round and were looking to close the remaining gap before the end of fourth quarter 2025.

The CBN said the recapitalisation policy was designed to ensure financial system stability, strengthen banks’ capacity to finance large-scale economic projects, and align with global standards of risk-based supervision.

Cardoso explained that the ongoing recapitalisation initiative is helping to reinforce the sector’s resilience, with key Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) showing sustained stability.

MPC retains rates

The Committee decided to retain all monetary policy parameters in order to consolidate the recent gains in inflation control and price stability. The benchmark Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) remains at 27.50 percent, with an asymmetric corridor of +500/-100 basis points. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was maintained at 50.00 percent for deposit money banks and 16.00 percent for merchant banks. The Liquidity Ratio was also held steady at 30.00 percent .

This decision, the CBN Governor said, was taken to “sustain the momentum of disinflation and sufficiently contain price pressures,” noting that Nigeria has begun recording gradual improvement in inflation dynamics.

“We will continue to use every tool available—MPR, CRR, and ensuring an efficient foreign exchange market—to bring down inflation to significant levels,” he said.

Cardoso stated that managing inflation expectations remains a key focus for the Bank, and transparency in policy direction will help guide public and investor sentiment.

“We are determined to ensure that we use all the different tools at our disposal. Inflation expectations will be managed in a way that the public understands the direction of the policy. We are committed to transparency,” he said.

But for the Chief Executive Officer, Center for the promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr Muda Yusuf, a hold in the CBN rates was expected because as long as inflation has not significantly moderated, it is most unlikely that the CBN will cut rates.

He explained that even though the headline inflation decelerated marginally to 22.22 per cent, the month-on-month headline inflation increased, while the sub-index, that is the food inflation, also increased on month-on-month. The core inflation increased on month-on-month.

According to him, these were some of the arguments that the CBN also referenced in justifying the decision to hold rates. He further explained that given that situation and given the fact that the economy is still contending with other factors driving inflation, for example, energy costs, insecurity, the exchange rate, the cost of fund, cost of logistics, means that they keep exerting pressure on the supply side.

“So we take all of these things together, it is no surprise that the CBN did not opt for a realisation of the monetary policy rates or other rates for that matter. So from the perspective of the CBN, this is what is expected,’ he said.

Yusuf said that there is the need to make cheaper funds available for the economy, for investors, but interest rate at over 30 percent is very prohibitive because it impedes growth and investment.

Also, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) commended the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for maintaining a tight policy stance in July 2025.

NECA’s Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, said yesterday that the move was necessary to consolidate economic gains and support long-term macroeconomic stability.