The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a 24-month ultimatum to banks to raise their capital base to a new minimum to strengthen the financial system. The new requirement sets the minimum capital base for banks with international authorisation at ₦500 billion.
The new guidelines were disclosed in a statement signed by its Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali, in Abuja on Thursday.
The CBN noted that commercial banks with national licences are expected to achieve a N200 billion capital base. On the other hand, merchant banks are expected to increase their capital to N50 billion as the minimum capital requirement.
Similarly, non-interest banks with national and regional authorisations must increase their capital to N20 billion and N10 billion, respectively.
The latest directive emphasises the CBN’s drive to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s vision of tackling economic challenges nationwide and creating a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
