Nigeria’s banking sector has staged a powerful show of strength, closing in on full compliance with the recapitalisation deadline in a development that signals renewed confidence in the nation’s financial system.
The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) on Monday applauded the industry’s resilience, revealing that over 96 per cent of financial institutions met the March 31, 2026 capital threshold ahead of schedule.
The group described the milestone as a testament to discipline, institutional capacity and strategic alignment within the banking ecosystem at a critical moment for economic reform.
ACAMB also reserved strong commendation for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), citing its firm regulatory oversight and reform-driven leadership as central to the sector’s successful transition.
The recapitalisation drive traces its roots to March 2024, when the apex bank reviewed and raised minimum capital requirements across banking categories in a sweeping policy shift.
Under the new framework, international commercial banks were required to meet a N500 billion threshold, while national and regional banks were pegged at N200 billion and N50 billion respectively.
Merchant banks were assigned a N50 billion minimum, while non-interest banks were structured along national and regional lines with thresholds of N20 billion and N10 billion.
The Governor of the CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, had disclosed that 32 banks had already met the revised requirements, describing the progress as a critical boost to financial system stability and long-term capital mobilisation.
He noted that the strengthened capital base would empower banks to support productive investments and position the economy on a path towards a $1 trillion output, even as global and domestic pressures persist.
Echoing this optimism, ACAMB President Jide Sipe said the high compliance level underscores the sector’s readiness to absorb shocks and sustain growth, while also praising the CBN’s reform agenda and global recognition as Central Bank of the Year 2026.
He, however, urged sustained regulatory support to ensure full system alignment, warning that the stability of the financial architecture must remain intact as Nigeria deepens its economic transformation ambitions.