The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it has pegged the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international authorisation at N500 billion.
The CBN, in a circular signed by the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa, gave all commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks and promoters of proposed banks 24 months, commencing from April 1, 2024, and terminating on March 31, 2026, to meet the requirements.
According to CBN, the new minimum capital base for commercial banks with national authorisation is now N200 billion, while the new requirement for those with regional authorisation is N50 billion, adding that the new minimum capital for merchant banks would be ₦50 billion. The new requirements for non-interest banks with national and regional authorisations are N20 billion and N10 billion, respectively.
It advised banks to consider injecting fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issues and/or offers for subscription.
The apex bank also suggested merger and acquisition as well as upgrade or downgrade of licences.
The last that the CBN increased the capital base for banks was 19 years ago when incumbent Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State was in charge of the apex bank and had raised the capital base from N2 billion to N25 billion.