The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international standing to N500 billion.
The CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, who confirmed the development in a circular made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, said the apex bank set a N200 billion threshold for national banks and N50 billion for their regional counterparts.
Also, non-interest banks with national and regional authorizations are expected to shore up their capital base to N20 billion and N10 billion respectively within 24 months beginning from April 1.
The CBN urged banks to consider injecting fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issues, and/or offers for subscriptions to meet the new minimum capital requirement.
They are also encouraged to pursue mergers and acquisitions or to consider upgrading or downgrading their license authorisation.
“Additional Tier 1 (AT1) Capital will not be eligible for meeting the new requirement. Despite the increase in capital, banks must ensure strict compliance with the minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement applicable to their license authorisation,” the circular read.