Banks Encountering Delays in Capital Raising Efforts

As the June 2026 deadline approaches, some commercial banks expected to meet the new minimum capital base set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are unusually quiet.Banks such as GTCO, Fidelity, Zenith, and Access have successfully completed their capital-raising initiatives, while others like Sterling Bank are nearing the finish line.

In contrast, banks like Polaris and Providus (now merged with Unity) have either not reported on their progress or are encountering difficulties in complying with the CBN’s recapitalization mandate.The CBN has increased the minimum capital requirement for commercial banks with national authorization to N200 billion and for those with regional authorization to N50 billion.

For banks holding international authorization, the minimum capital requirement has been set at N500 billion to maintain their licenses.Overall, banks with international licenses must collectively secure at least N2.2 trillion to meet the capitalization targets, while those with national licenses need an additional N1.6 trillion, according to Afrinvest’s 2024 Banking Sector Report.

So far, five proactive banks have sought capital on the Nigerian stock exchange, successfully raising around N1.27 trillion.