14 Nigerian Banks Yet to Meet CBN Recapitalisation Targets as 2026 Deadline Nears
With just over a year to the March 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline, no fewer than 14 Nigerian commercial banks are still struggling to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new capital requirements, raising fresh concerns about the sector’s readiness for the regulatory overhaul.
This comes after CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced on Tuesday that 16 banks have now met the apex bank’s recapitalisation benchmark—an improvement from the 14 banks reported two months ago.
Cardoso revealed the progress in a statement issued after the 303rd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja, noting that the growing number of compliant banks reflects increasing stability in Nigeria’s financial sector.
According to him, the MPC was satisfied with the resilience of the banking industry, stating that “most financial soundness indicators remain within regulatory thresholds.”
He added:
“The committee acknowledged the substantial progress in the ongoing recapitalisation programme, with 16 banks achieving full compliance with the revised capital requirements.
The committee thus urged the Bank to ensure a successful implementation and conclusion of the programme.”
The update means two additional banks achieved compliance between the 302nd and 303rd MPC meetings—bringing the total to 16 compliant institutions and 14 still outstanding.
As of 2024, CBN records show Nigeria has 13 commercial banks, five merchant banks, and seven financial holding companies.
Earlier reports revealed that leading institutions such as Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, Wema Bank, Jaiz Bank, and Stanbic IBTC were among those that had already met the recapitalisation criteria.
In March, the CBN issued new capital mandates requiring commercial banks with international licences to raise their minimum capital base to N500 billion, while those with national licences must increase theirs to N200 billion.
With the deadline drawing closer, attention is now shifting to the remaining banks yet to comply—and the strategies they may deploy to meet the stringent requirements.