In a significant development for Nigeria’s financial industry, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that fourteen commercial banks have now met the bank’s newly established capital requirements ahead of the March 2026 deadline. This marks notable progress in the ongoing recapitalisation drive.
Speaking at the conclusion of the 302nd Monetary Policy Committee meeting, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso described the banking sector as resilient, noting that key stability indicators remain within acceptable bounds. He encouraged banks that have not yet complied to intensify efforts toward meeting the threshold.
This figure represents a clear jump from July 2025, when only eight banks had successfully reached the new capital levels. The recapitalisation reform is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the banking sector’s ability to absorb shocks and support larger credit growth.
As part of monetary policy adjustments coinciding with the update, the MPC reduced the Monetary Policy Rate by 50 basis points, bringing it down from 27.5 percent to 27 percent. The asymmetric corridor around the benchmark rate was also narrowed to improve liquidity management and guide market expectations.
Under the CBN’s recapitalisation policy introduced last year, banks operating with international authorisation must achieve a capital base of ₦500 billion, while national and regional banks must meet ₦200 billion and ₦50 billion respectively by the 2026 deadline.
As the countdown to the deadline continues, all eyes are now on the banks yet to comply and the steps they will take be it equity injection, restructuring, mergers, or other strategies to stay viable in a more demanding regulatory environment.
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