The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said 14 commercial banks have fully met the new capital thresholds under its ongoing recapitalisation programme, aimed at strengthening the banking sector.
Governor Yemi Cardoso disclosed this while presenting the communiqué of the 302nd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.
Under the new framework announced earlier this year, commercial banks with international licences are required to raise their capital base to ₦500 billion, those with national authorisation to ₦200 billion, while regional lenders must meet ₦50 billion. Merchant banks have a ₦50 billion requirement, while non-interest banks face ₦20 billion (national) and ₦10 billion (regional) thresholds.
Cardoso said the MPC commended the progress made so far and urged the apex bank to sustain policies that will ensure the recapitalisation exercise is successfully concluded.
The governor also announced that the MPC had lowered the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 27 per cent from 27.5 per cent, citing sustained disinflation over the past five months and projections of further declines for the rest of 2025.
To tighten liquidity, the CBN introduced a 75 per cent cash reserve ratio on non-TSA public sector deposits, while adjusting commercial banks’ CRR to 45 per cent from 50 per cent. Liquidity ratio was left unchanged at 30 per cent.
Analysts say the recapitalisation drive, the most ambitious since 2004, will likely trigger a new wave of mergers and acquisitions, reshaping the sector ahead of the 2026 compliance deadline.
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