The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that 14 banks have successfully met the new minimum capital requirements set under its ongoing recapitalisation programme.
Governor of the CBN, Yemi Cardoso, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while presenting the communiqué of the 302nd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
He said the progress reflects the effectiveness of the exercise, which is structured around different thresholds depending on banks’ licence categories.
Under the new framework, commercial banks with international licences are required to maintain a capital base of ₦500 billion, while those with national authorisation must hold ₦200 billion.
Regional commercial banks and merchant banks are each expected to have at least ₦50 billion, non-interest banks with national licences ₦20 billion, and those with regional licences ₦10 billion.
Cardoso recalled that Nigeria’s last major recapitalisation in 2004 raised the minimum capital base from ₦2 billion to ₦25 billion, triggering mergers that reduced the number of banks from 89 to 25.
He said the current exercise is already driving stronger risk management and transparency, particularly with the termination of forbearance measures on single obligors.
He assured that the impact of this policy change is temporary and poses no threat to the stability of the financial system.
On monetary policy, the MPC lowered the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points from 27.5 per cent to 27 per cent, citing sustained disinflation over the last five months and projections of further declines in inflation for the rest of 2025.
The committee also adjusted the standing facilities corridor to plus or minus 250 basis points, reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks to 45 per cent from 50 per cent, retained the CRR for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and kept the liquidity ratio unchanged at 30 per cent.
In addition, it introduced a 75 per cent CRR on non-TSA public sector deposits to improve liquidity management.
Cardoso said the measures are intended to safeguard stability while supporting economic recovery.
