Access, Wema, Zenith, five others scale CBN recapitalisation hurdle

Access Holdings Plc, Wema Bank, and Zenith Bank are among the eight banks that have fully completed their recapitalisation requirements, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The other five banks are: Lotus Bank, Jaiz Bank, Providus Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and Greenwich Merchant Bank. The CBN announced last Tuesday that eight lenders had fully met the new capital thresholds, while others were steadily progressing toward the 2026 deadline.

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN, made the disclosure in Abuja following the conclusion of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

The recapitalisation directive, issued in March 2024, mandates new minimum capital levels for commercial banks: N500 billion for international banks, N200 billion for national banks, and N50 billion for regional banks. For non-interest banks, the thresholds are N20 billion (national) and N10 billion (regional).

Access Bank has confirmed that it successfully completed its recapitalisation by raising N351 billion through a rights issue, making it the first Nigerian bank to meet the new capital base of N500 billion. The rights issue involved 17.77 billion ordinary shares at N19.75 each. With a combined share premium and paid-up capital of N602.8 billion, the bank has exceeded the CBN requirement by N102.8 billion.

Zenith Bank also concluded its recapitalisation, raising over N350 billion through a combination of rights issue and public offer. The bank’s share capital now stands at N614 billion, surpassing the minimum capital requirement for international banks.

Similarly, Wema Bank completed its recapitalisation by raising N150 billion through a rights issue of 14.29 billion shares at N10.45 per share, concluded on May 21, 2025. The bank is awaiting final verification from the CBN, with a N50 billion portion of the offer currently under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to posts on social media.

Lotus Bank is also listed among five institutions that have met the required capital threshold ahead of schedule. The bank has already exceeded the N20 billion requirement for national non-interest banks before the CBN’s official directive.

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Also, Jaiz Bank completed its recapitalisation by raising N10.04 billion through a private placement, putting it ahead of the June 2026 deadline. The bank’s total assets have grown to N1.06 trillion, with shareholders’ funds reaching N47.9 billion.

Greenwich Merchant Bank is also listed among banks that have met their capital requirements. The bank recently received an upgraded credit rating of ‘A-’ with a stable outlook from Agusto & Co., and is said to have fulfilled its recapitalisation mandate.

Commenting on the progress across the industry, Ayokunle Olubunmi, head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co., noted that some banks that have already met the capital requirement have opted not to publicise it. He noted that others are in advanced stages and that more announcements are expected in the coming weeks.

Providus Bank, which recently completed its recapitalisation, sealed a strategic merger with Unity Bank. This makes Providus–Unity the first approved merger under the CBN’s recapitalisation programme announced earlier in 2024.

Nigerian banks have collectively raised over N13 trillion in fresh equity capital as of mid-2025, significantly strengthening their capital buffers and improving resilience to credit risk, according to a new report by Proshare.

The report, released recently and focused on Tier-1 banks, highlighted the outcome of sustained recapitalisation efforts within the banking sector.

The substantial capital raise implies improvements in key financial health indicators. Banks can now report stronger Capital Adequacy Ratios (CARs), reduced Cost of Risk (CoR), larger and more diversified asset bases, more robust capital buffers capable of absorbing non-performing loans (NPLs), and healthier Cost-to-Income Ratios (CIRs).

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.