Banks Race To Meet March 31 Recapitalisation Deadline

With approximately 100 days remaining until the March 31, 2026, deadline for the Nigerian banking sector’s recapitalisation, the sector is now defined less by fear of failure and more by strategic repositioning.

This comes as the Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) has dismissed rumours that up to 12 banks face imminent closure.

As the deadline approaches, 16 banks have already met the minimum capital requirements for their respective licence categories. These include Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, GTBank, Ecobank, Stanbic IBTC, Wema Bank, Jaiz Bank, Lotus Bank, Providus Bank, Greenwich Merchant Bank and PremiumTrust Bank, alongside Globus Bank, Citibank Nigeria, United Bank for Africa, Nova Bank and Sterling Bank.

This is in line with the disclosure made by the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, who confirmed the progress of banks in their race to meet the deadline. Cardoso, had stated that “several banks have already met the new capital thresholds, while others are advancing steadily and are well positioned to meet the March 31, 2026 deadline comfortably.”

He disclosed that 27 banks have accessed the capital market through public offers and rights issues, with 16 already meeting or exceeding the new benchmarks, adding that beyond headline figures, stress tests conducted in 2025 show that the banking system remains fundamentally robust, with key financial soundness indicators meeting prudential standards across the board.

Despite the progress, several lenders are still fine-tuning their capital plans. Fidelity Bank and FCMB Group are 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 retain its international banking licence ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
The 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.”

Analysts say mergers and acquisitions remain limited for now, but ownership changes are becoming increasingly likely as banks court new investors. Ayokunle Olubunmi, Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto and Co., said that only a few institutions remain under real pressure.

“Nothing dramatic has happened yet on the mergers front, but by January or February, we could see clearer outcomes. Capital raising through private placements and rights issues will inevitably lead to dilution for shareholders who do not participate,” he said.

The race for capital had also triggered a wave of strategic realignments. Nova Bank opted to downgrade its license to a regional banking status, significantly lowering its requirement to N50 billion to beat the deadline.

Meanwhile, consolidation is picking up steam; Union Bank has merged with Titan Trust Bank, and Providus Bank is set to merge with Unity Bank, a move that would create Nigeria’s ninth-largest lender by assets.

However, as online rumours spread of an imminent closure of banks, ACAMB warned that alarmist narratives around bank failures are both misleading and dangerous.

The association stressed that all banks submitted vetted recapitalisation plans to the CBN in 2024 and that the regulator has repeatedly expressed satisfaction with implementation progress.

Some social media influencers had begun to run narratives of the closure of banks saying up to 12 banks would not meet the required capital base by the set deadline. Still, ACAMB in a statement signed by its president, Rasheed Bolarinwa, noted that “contrary to the false claims circulating online, Nigerian banks are currently safe, sound and adequately capitalised, with strong capital adequacy buffers sufficient to meet both customer obligations and regulatory requirements.

“The recapitalisation initiative focuses specifically on strengthening core ownership capital—namely, share capital and share premium, rather than total shareholders’ funds or other capital instruments such as bonds and preference shares.

“All banks have a fair and realistic chance of meeting their recapitalisation targets, with more than one-third already having met theirs and most others at advanced stages of implementation. All banks submitted recapitalisation plans to the CBN in 2024, which were vetted and approved for feasibility before execution commenced. In its most recent assessment, the CBN publicly expressed satisfaction with the progress made and reaffirmed that banks are on track to meet the stipulated deadlines.

“The misinformation being peddled is therefore entirely baseless and appears driven by mischief, ignorance and a reckless disregard for the economic consequences of false narratives. ACAMB will draw the attention of relevant law-enforcement agencies to this and similar content, particularly where it borders on false representation, economic sabotage and violations of the Cybercrime Act. While freedom of expression is guaranteed, it carries corresponding responsibilities of truthfulness, accuracy and fairness.”