The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the capital base for commercial banks with international authorization to N500 billion and national banks to N200 billion.
This sweeping financial reform, announced on Thursday, March 28, 2024, mandates substantial increases in the minimum capital base for banks, varying by the scope of their operations.
The latest policy directive specifies that commercial banks with international authorization are now required to shore up their capital base to N500 billion.
The CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, confirmed the policy shift in Abuja, further detailing that national authorization commercial banks need to meet a N200 billion threshold, while those with regional authorization are expected to achieve a N50 billion capital floor.
The CBN also emphasized that all banks are required to meet the minimum capital requirement within 24 months commencing from April 1, 2024, and terminating on March 31, 2026
See breakdown
The new capital requirement will consist solely of paid-up capital and share premium. This means Shareholders’ Fund will not be considered.
According to the circular, to meet the minimum capital requirements, the CBN has urged banks to consider injecting fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issues, and/or offers for subscription; to pursue Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As); and/or to consider upgrading or downgrading their license authorisation.
Additionally, the circular revealed that the minimum capital will consist solely of paid-up capital and share premium. It emphasized that the new capital requirement would not be based on the Shareholders’ Fund.
The CBN circular stated that the minimum capital requirement for proposed banks would be the paid-up capital.
In the meantime, the CBN requires all banks to submit an implementation plan, clearly indicating their chosen methods for meeting the new capital requirement and detailing the various activities and their timelines, by no later than April 30, 2024.
The CBN also announced that it would monitor and ensure compliance with the new requirements within the specified timeframe.
Nairametrics wrote an article last year analyzing this scenario and showing the banks that are most vulnerable to raising capital.
In the scenario which was based on their 2023 9 months results, we observed all the banks fall short of N500 billion capital in respect to their share premium and ordinary share capital. See below
However, the CBN’s divided the major commercial banks along the lines of international, national and regional banks which suggest banks like Fidelity Bank (which just acquired a Union Bank UK) and FCMB could be on the hook for N500 billion share capital.
In that scenario the table will look this way.
See press release from CBN