Onome Amuge
With the March 31, 2026 deadline for Nigeria’s banking sector recapitalisation programme approaching, regulatory focus has narrowed to a small group of lenders yet to meet the new capital thresholds. Among banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange, Sterling Bank and FCMB Group remain the only institutions that have not achieved full compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) revised minimum paid-in capital requirements for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks.
The recapitalisation exercise, unveiled by the CBN as part of efforts to strengthen financial system stability, requires commercial banks with international licences to raise minimum capital to N500 billion. The policy marks the most significant capital overhaul of the sector in more than a decade and has triggered a wave of fundraisings, balance-sheet restructuring and asset sales across the industry.
Recent announcements indicate that most of the sector is now firmly on track. Over the past week, several large lenders, including First HoldCo Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Fidelity Bank, disclosed successful capital-raising transactions that lifted them above the regulatory floor.
First HoldCo Plc, the holding company of First Bank of Nigeria, met the N500 billion requirement by combining proceeds from a rights issue and a private placement with funds realised from the divestment of its merchant banking subsidiary. The approach underscores how banks with complex group structures are deploying asset rationalisation alongside equity issuance to meet the tighter capital rules.
Fidelity Bank, a mid-tier lender that has expanded aggressively in recent years, announced the completion of a N259 billion private placement on December 31, 2025. The transaction raised its eligible capital from N305.5 billion to N564.5 billion, subject to regulatory approval. This followed an earlier N175.9 billion capital raise in 2024, highlighting what analysts describe as a proactive and phased approach to recapitalisation.
UBA, one of Nigeria’s largest banks by assets and geographic footprint, also crossed the N500 billion threshold in 2025. The group completed a N178.3 billion rights issue in September, complemented by a N239 billion capital injection, lifting its capital base comfortably above the minimum requirement and reinforcing its regional expansion strategy.
Taken together, these transactions mean that nine of the 11 NGX-listed banks including Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Stanbic IBTC, Wema Bank and Jaiz Bank, have now satisfied the recapitalisation criteria. Market participants view this as a signal of underlying balance-sheet strength and continued investor appetite for Nigerian banking assets, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment marked by currency volatility and elevated inflation.
Analysts say the recapitalisation drive is likely to have longer-term benefits for the sector. According to Meristem Securities, stronger capital buffers will enhance banks’ capacity to absorb risk and place them in a better position to finance large corporate exposures and infrastructure projects that are central to Nigeria’s economic growth agenda.
However, the remaining laggards face increasing pressure. For Sterling Bank and FCMB Group, failure to meet the deadline could attract closer regulatory scrutiny and potentially constrain asset growth and dividend distributions in the near term. With less than three months to go, the final phase of the recapitalisation programme is expected to test the strategic flexibility of these institutions and determine whether consolidation, fresh equity issuance or other corporate actions emerge as last-minute solutions.
