By Busari Kabirat
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has formerly increases the minimum capital requirement for all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) with the national licences from N25 billion to N200 billion if they want to remain in the business market.
The Apex bank also raised the capital requirement for banks with regional licences from N15 billion to N50 billion, likewise banks with international licences from N100 billion to N500 billion of they still want to remain in the business market.
This is coming from a statement by Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, who is the Acting Director, Corporate Communication Department, where she said that the new minimum capital for merchant banks is N50 billion while new requirements for non-interest banks with national and regional authorizations are N20 billion and N10 billion respectfully.
In accordance with a signed circular by Mr Haruna Mustafa, who is the Director, Financial Policy and Regulations Department, said that all banks were expected to meet the new minimum capital requirements within 24 months which will start counting from April 1 and laps on March 31, 2026, maintained that the move is to enhance banks’ resilience, solvency and capacity to continue supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy.
All banks are adviced to start implementing the new equity capital through private placement, right issues and offers for subscriptions to meet the new minimum capital requirements.
He also suggested Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As), amongst banks, upgrade or downgrade of licence authorizations as well.
