One week to go as banks scramble to meet recapitalisation targets

Nigerian banks are in a last-minute push to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation deadline of March 31, 2026.

This medium understand that most lenders have substantially met the new capital requirements, with 30 banks having met the revised capital thresholds as of March 6, according to CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications Development, Hakama Sidi-Ali.

The recapitalisation exercise, introduced in March 2024, requires banks to meet new minimum capital thresholds of up to N500 billion for international commercial banks, and lower thresholds for other licence categories.

As of February 19, 2026, total verified and approved capital raise stands at N4.05 trillion, with 71.6% mobilised domestically and 28.33% foreign.

Speaking at the end of the 304th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, expressed confidence that the process would be completed within the deadline, while acknowledging that a few institutions were still finalising their plans.

“And quite frankly, I expected to conclude within that stipulated time. It is expected,” he said.

He added: “There are other institutions that are still finalising their plans and evaluating a range of strategic options. And there’s time, which, of course, includes consolidating where appropriate.”

The apex bank is expected to provide an update on the exercise this week.