Banks are in a last-minute push to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation deadline, with the apex bank expected to make a major announcement this week as the March 31, 2026, cut-off approaches.
Findings by The PUNCH indicate that most lenders have substantially met the new capital requirements, while a few institutions are resolving final regulatory and structural issues ahead of the deadline.
Top officials of the CBN said the regulator would provide an update on the exercise on Tuesday or Wednesday, amid expectations that the process will largely conclude within the stipulated timeline.
The recapitalisation exercise, introduced in March 2024, requires banks to meet new minimum capital thresholds of up to N500bn for international commercial banks, as well as lower thresholds for other licence categories.
Speaking at the end of the 304th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, expressed confidence that the process would be completed within the deadline, while acknowledging that a few institutions were still finalising their plans.
“And quite frankly, I expected to conclude within that stipulated time. It is expected,” he said.
He added, “There are other institutions that are still finalising their plans and evaluating a range of strategic options. And there’s time, which, of course, includes consolidating where appropriate.”
Cardoso disclosed that the banking sector had already mobilised significant capital under the exercise. “As of February 19, 2026, total verified and approved capital raise stands at N4.05tn,” he said.
He further stated that, “Of this, N2.90tn, which is 71.6 per cent, has been mobilised domestically, with $706.84m, which is N1.15tn, representing 28.33 per cent foreign.”
He said the mix of domestic and foreign participation reflected strong investor confidence in the sector. “This balance, in my view, represents a mix of domestic and foreign, which signals broad investor engagement and confidence in the sector,” he added.
Despite the progress recorded, investigations showed that a few banks are yet to complete the process, largely due to delays affecting the merger process of two institutions, though there are indications that the issues may be resolved within the week.
There are also uncertainties around three banks under regulatory intervention, with the final capital position dependent on ongoing supervisory actions and possible support arrangements.
The CBN had earlier clarified that three banks under regulatory intervention are being treated as special cases and are not expected to follow the same sequence as other institutions in the recapitalisation process.
Cardoso acknowledged this category of banks during his remarks, noting that “The other group that I think I would be remiss not to mention are the institutions which are currently undertaking regulatory intervention with certain legal and structural considerations that have naturally influenced the sequencing of their recapitalisation actions.
“In other words, it’s unreasonable to expect that they would follow the same sequence as those that really and truly two and a half years ago, when we made this announcement, have had ample time in which to do a lot of the things they are doing.
“We remain the Central Bank of Nigeria, actively engaged with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that they have an orderly and credible outcome while maintaining financial stability.”
He also reassured depositors about the safety of funds in such institutions. “Depositor funds in these institutions remain secure, and operations continue under close supervisory and regulatory oversight of the central bank,” he said.
Financial analysts say the recapitalisation exercise has exceeded expectations, especially given initial concerns about the size of the capital gap.
The Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co, Ayokunle Olubunmi, told The PUNCH on Sunday that the recapitalisation exercise had recorded strong progress across the banking sector.
“I think the recapitalisation exercise has been a success thus far,” he said. “When the exercise started, a lot of people were sceptical. Even those who were optimistic were scared because the gap seemed to be huge.”
He noted that domestic investors played a major role in the capital raise. “The bulk of the funds were actually from the domestic economy… that’s the interesting part,” he said.
Olubunmi added that most of the banks yet to be formally cleared had already raised the required funds and were only undergoing regulatory verification. “It’s not that they are still in the market looking for funds. The funds are with the CBN. They’re just providing documentation for the CBN to certify it,” he said.
He further explained that the three banks under regulatory intervention were being handled differently by the regulator. “Those ones… are special cases… we can’t really benchmark them with others,” he said.
According to officials, while about three banks are outstanding in terns of meeting the target, two of the bank are expected to complete their merger process this week.
The third bank is also expected to meet the recapitalisation threshold this week.
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