CBN Increases Commercial Banks Capital Base

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced the increase of the capital base for commercial banks with international authorisation to N500bn and national banks to N200bn.

The apex bank announced this in a statement signed and issued by its Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali, in Abuja on Thursday.

The CBN’s move mandates substantial increases in the minimum capital base for banks, varying by the scope of their operations.

The latest policy directive specifies that commercial banks with international authorisation will now shore up their capital base to N500bn.

The statement added that national authorisation commercial banks need to meet a N200bn threshold, while those with regional authorisation are must achieve a N50bn capital floor.

In a bid to tighten the financial fabric, the CBN has not overlooked merchant banks, which are now subject to an N50bn minimum capital requirement.

Sidi added that non-interest banks with national and regional authorisation will need to increase their capital to N20bn and N10bn respectively.