Recapitalisation: Combined Capital Of 21 Banks Hits N5.14trn

Nigeria’s banking sector is fast approaching the end of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation programme with a combined capital base of about N5.142 trillion already locked in by lenders across the different licence categories, disclosures made by the banks have shown.

The figures show that 21 out of the 37 commercial, merchant and non-interest banks in the country have met or exceeded the revised minimum capital thresholds well ahead of the March 2026 deadline, reflecting strong investor appetite and renewed balance sheet strength in the industry.

For banks with international authorisation, six lenders have crossed the N500 billion regulatory bar.

Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Fidelity Bank and United Bank for Africa together account for about N3.28 trillion in capital. Zenith Bank leads the pack with about N614 billion after its oversubscribed public offer added N350.46 billion to its capital base.

Access Bank followed closely with over N600 billion after raising N351 billion through a rights issue, the first to hit the benchmark.

GTBank’s capital now stands at about N504 billion after a two-phased equity programme, while FirstBank and UBA both have their capital base in excess of N500 billion. Fidelity Bank also crossed the line with about N564 billion following a N259 billion private placement.

In the national banking category, eight lenders have met the N200 billion minimum requirement, contributing an estimated N1.6 trillion in capital. Ecobank Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC, PremiumTrust Bank, Citibank Nigeria, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Providus Bank, Wema Bank and Globus Bank are each standing at over N200 billion.

Stanbic IBTC reached the threshold through an oversubscribed rights issue, while PremiumTrust Bank became one of the earliest national banks to comply, just three years after commencing operations. Wema Bank combined a rights issue and private placement to exceed the benchmark, while Citibank and Standard Chartered said early compliance underscores their long term commitment to Nigeria.

Nova Bank had downgraded from a national bank to regional having met the N50 billion minimum capital requirement for the regional license, placing the category’s total capital at N50 billion based on available disclosures.

Merchant banks have also complied. Greenwich Merchant Bank, Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria and FSDH Merchant Bank have each reached the N50 billion threshold, bringing total capital in the merchant banking segment to an estimated N150 billion. Rand Merchant Bank said meeting the requirement strengthens its capacity to deliver corporate and investment banking services while supporting financial system stability.

Non-interest banks have collectively raised over N60 billion, with Jaiz Bank, Lotus Bank and TAJBank each meeting the N20 billion minimum set by the apex bank. Jaiz Bank said it complied well ahead of the deadline and plans to raise more capital in phases to support expansion, while Lotus Bank and TAJBank described their compliance as a foundation for deeper financial inclusion and growth.

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.

Commenting on the recapitalisation process, analysts at Meristem Research noted that the broad progress indicates the underlying strength of the Nigerian banking system, particularly in terms of fundamental soundness, liquidity, and balance-sheet resilience.

“Looking ahead, we expect the recapitalisation exercise, through stronger capital buffers to enhance banks’ risk-absorption capacity and better position them to support credit expansion, especially to large corporates and infrastructure projects critical to economic growth.

“For institutions yet to meet these requirements, they are likely to face heightened regulatory pressure and may experience short-term constraints on asset growth and dividend payouts.”

Coronation Asset Management had, in its Year in Review and 2026 Outlook noted that with some listed banks yet to finalise their recapitalisation plans, it is expected that there would be capital raising activities in the market over the next couple of weeks ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline.

Analysts at Coronation had noted that the theme for the first quarter of the year had been the recapitalisation drive “spurring a series of capital market activities as banks race to meet the March 2026 deadline. While investor sentiment has been mixed, leading to sector underperformance relative to the broader market, the outlook is anchored by this strengthening of capital bases and an expected normalisation of earnings towards core banking activities in 2026.”

The review pointed out that while many have concluded their capital raising plans through rights issues, public offers, and private placements, some others have CBN approval for multiple offers already in place or in the pipeline.

“With about three months to go, we expect to see more capital market activities and final calls on capital raise programmes,”  it said.