Banks’ values rise to N30tr
Total market value of Nigerian banks have risen above N30 trillion as fresh capital injections by existing and new investors boosted the capitalisation of the banking sector. Data provided by
- Recapitalisation attracts fresh injections
Total market value of Nigerian banks have risen above N30 trillion as fresh capital injections by existing and new investors boosted the capitalisation of the banking sector.
Data provided by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), where the largest banks are listed and private market intelligence yesterday indicated that the realistic worth of Nigerian banks have more than doubled.
The increase was due to issuance of additional shares by recapitalising banks and upward revaluation of banks by the investing public following positive sentiments that have trailed the recapitalisation.
Publicly quoted banks, which controls more than two-thirds of the banking industry’s balance sheet, also remain the most valued banks, accounting for about N21 trillion of the estimated industry value.
The five biggest banks, in terms of capitalisation, account for nearly half of the industry’s value, underlining the difference between book values and balance sheets and investor-moderated current worth of banks.
The five biggest banks - Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Zenith Bank International, First HoldCo, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and United Bank for Africa (UBA) - are valued at about N15 trillion, nearly half of the industry’s valuation.
The 13 listed banks altogether accounted for N20.7 trillion, with substantial increases in market values of the banks.
A breakdown indicated current value of N4.35 trillion, N3.82 trillion, N2.31 trillion, N2.12 trillion and N2.10 trillion for GTCO, Zenith Bank, First HoldCo, Stanbic IBTC and UBA respectively.
Read Also: Recapitalisation: Banks head for N6tr closure
Others include Access Holdings, N1.38 trillion; Wema Bank, N1.09 trillion; Ecobank Transnational, N1.068 trillion; Fidelity Bank, N984 billion; FCMB Group, N562 billion; Jaiz Bank, N459 billion and Sterling Financial Holdings Company, which was valued at N409 billion.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the weekend confirmed that 30 banks have met the minimum capital requirements for their various business licenses ahead of the March 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
The CBN had in March 2024 released its circular on review of minimum capital requirement for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks. The apex bank increased the new minimum capital for commercial banks with international affiliations, otherwise known as mega banks, to N500 billion; commercial banks with national authorisation, N200 billion and commercial banks with regional license, N50 billion.
Others included merchant banks, N50 billion; non-interest banks with national license, N20 billion and non-interest banks with regional license will now have N10 billion minimum capital. The 24-month timeline for compliance ends on March 31, 2026.
Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Hakama Sidi Ali, in a statement released on Friday provided progress report on the current state of the recapitalisation exercise.
She stated that 30 banks have met the new capital requirements for their respective licence authorisations.
She explained that 33 banks have raised additional capital through rights issues, initial public offerings (IPOs), and private placements since the beginning of the recapitalisation programme.
She said: “As of March 6, 2026, the recapitalisation exercise is progressing steadily. Thirty banks have met the new minimum capital requirements applicable to their respective licence authorisations.
“In total, 33 banks have raised additional capital through rights issues, initial public offerings (IPOs), and private placements as part of the programme”.
She said the apex bank is currently undertaking routine verification process of the other banks ahead of final confirmation of compliance within the recapitalisation timeline.
“The CBN reiterates that the Nigerian banking system remains stable and sound. The recapitalisation programme remains firmly on track and will further strengthen the capacity of the banking sector to support households, businesses, and sustainable economic growth,” Sidi Ali said.
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso had earlier addressed concerns about three banks-Polaris Bank, Union Bank and Keystone Bank) currently under its regulatory intervention.
He said such institutions may not follow the same recapitalisation timeline because of legal and structural issues affecting them.
He said: “We remain actively engaged with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that they have an orderly and credible outcome while maintaining financial stability”.
He assured Nigerians that “depositor funds in these institutions (Polaris Bank, Union Bank, Keystone Bank) remain secure and operations continue under close supervisory and regulatory oversight of the Central Bank.”
The weekend progress report implied that the apex bank had within the past two weeks cleared additional capital raised by banks.
Cardoso had two weeks’ ago after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)’s meeting said 20 banks had fully met their new minimum capital requirements while 13 other banks were at advanced stage of raising the required funds.
Cardoso said total verified and approved capital raised by banks stood at N4.05 trillion as at February 19, 2026. A total of N2.90 trillion or 71.6 per cent came from within Nigeria while $706.84 million, equivalent to N1.15 trillion or 28.33 per cent, came from foreign investors.
Market sources had told The Nation banks still had a pipeline of about N1.5 trillion in new capital injections, which could take total capital injections to about N6 trillion by the March 31, 2026 deadline.
Under the new minimum capital base, CBN uses a distinctive definition of the new minimum capital base for each category of banks as the addition of share capital and share premium, as against the previous use of shareholders’ funds.
