By Boluwatife Oshadiya
Copyright bizwatchnigeria
With six months to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalization deadline, six of the 13 listed banks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) have already met the new capital benchmarks.
The lenders include Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Wema Bank, Jaiz Bank, and Stanbic IBTC.
In March 2024, the CBN announced sweeping recapitalization measures requiring commercial banks with international authorization to raise their capital base to ₦500 billion, while those with national licenses must attain ₦200 billion. Regional banks were mandated to reach ₦50 billion, and non-interest banks with national and regional licenses must achieve ₦20 billion and ₦10 billion respectively. Compliance is due by March 2026.
Access Bank
Access Bank Holdings became the first Tier-1 bank to surpass the ₦500 billion requirement, securing approvals for a ₦351 billion rights issue in December 2024. This raised its share capital and premium to ₦594.90 billion, with shares outstanding climbing to 53.31 billion.
Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank’s audited 2024 financials showed capital and premium of ₦614.65 billion, well above the CBN threshold. The bank added 9.67 billion new shares, bringing its total shares outstanding to 41.07 billion.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) confirmed compliance in August 2025, reporting an increase in share capital from ₦138.19 billion in 2023 to ₦504.03 billion. This was achieved through a ₦365.85 billion capital raise, with shares outstanding rising by 6.99 billion units.
Stanbic IBTC
Stanbic IBTC met the ₦200 billion requirement through a ₦148.7 billion rights issue in June 2025, boosting share capital and premium above the threshold. Shares outstanding increased from 12.96 billion to 15.90 billion.
Wema Bank announced in September 2025 that it had crossed the ₦200 billion mark, following a ₦150 billion rights issue. Its capital base now stands at ₦214.7 billion, up from ₦15.13 billion in 2023.
Nigeria’s only listed non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank, achieved its ₦20 billion recapitalization target, with its H1 2025 report showing a rise to ₦28.67 billion in share capital and premium, up from ₦18.62 billion in 2023.
Collectively, the six banks have raised approximately ₦1.4 trillion in fresh capital while expanding their share base by more than 55 billion units.
Other lenders, including UBA and First Bank, are still in the process of raising the required funds through rights issues and private placements.
The recapitalization drive is viewed as a crucial step toward strengthening Nigeria’s banking sector, enhancing resilience, and boosting investor confidence ahead of the 2026 deadline.
