33 Banks Raise N4.65trn As CBN Says Recapitalisation Has Strengthened System
Thirty-three banks have met the revised minimum capital requirements and raised N4.65 trillion at the end of the two-year recapitalisation programme announced in March 2024.
The Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) Dr. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, disclosed this on Tuesday in his keynote address at the 38th edition seminar for Finance Correspondents Association Of Nigeria (FICAN) and Business Editors in Abuja.
The seminar was themed “Towards a Robust and Resilient Financial System in the Post-Banking Sector Recapitalisation Era.” Abdullahi said the recapitalisation has given the banking system stronger capacity to support Nigeria’s aspiration to build a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
According to him, the reform journey which began three years ago when Governor Olayemi Cardoso assumed office, was necessary to restore stability and rebuild confidence.
Recalling the conditions in 2023, he said Nigeria’s foreign exchange market was heavily administered and deeply fragmented, with the gap between official and parallel rates averaging over 60% in 2022 and exceeding 100% at some points.
“Just to put that into perspective, the World Bank estimated that the implicit subsidy created by this exchange rate setup cost us about 3% of our GDP in 2022,” he said.
He added that net usable external reserves had fallen to $859 million in Q2 2023, while outstanding FX forward claims had grown to over $7 billion, and Ways and Means financing had reached N26.6 trillion.
Abdullahi said the CBN’s first step was to consolidate the FX windows in June 2023 and move to a willing-buyer, willing-seller framework, remove restrictions on 43 import items, settle valid forward claims, and introduce the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System and the Nigerian FX Code.
He said the reforms are now yielding results: “The average gap between official and parallel rates fell from 68.2% in January to May 2023 to less than 2%. Of the $10.82 billion in total inflows recorded in July 2026, $7.33 billion, or nearly 68%, came from autonomous sources.”
He disclosed that gross external reserves stood at $55.60 billion as of September 11, 2026, providing 11.3 months of import cover, while headline inflation which peaked at 34.8% in December 2024, has moderated to 15.43% in July 2026, with real GDP growing by 4.43% in Q2 2026.
On the significance of recapitalisation, the Deputy Governor said stronger capital buffers should enable banks to finance long-term infrastructure, support industrial expansion and absorb losses during economic stress.
“Stronger capital buffers should enable banks to finance long-term infrastructure, support industrial expansion, facilitate international trade and compete more effectively in regional and global markets,” he said.
He however cautioned that capital alone is not enough. “Capital, however, is a starting point. Boards and management must maintain sound controls, recognise risks early and lend on the strength of viable projects,” Abdullahi said, adding that the CBN will continue to emphasise risk-based supervision, macroprudential surveillance, cybersecurity and consumer protection.
He thanked members of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria, FICAN, for their scrutiny in the last three years and urged the financial press to continue to provide fact-based reporting to sustain confidence in the system.