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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that 20 commercial banks have so far met its ongoing recapitalization requirements as of Thursday, January 15, 2026.
The update was given by the CBN’s Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Dr. Muhammad Abdullahi, while speaking on the status of the recapitalization exercise, which has a deadline of March 31, 2026.
Abdullahi disclosed this during a panel session at the launch of the 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Lagos. He noted that the apex bank has been actively engaged with financial institutions throughout the recapitalization process and will continue to do so in the coming months.
According to him, the CBN is now placing greater emphasis on ensuring that stronger capital bases in the banking sector translate into meaningful and productive lending to the economy.
“We have about 20 banks that have already met it. A number of banks are meeting it every day.
“They’re huge. It’s very busy within CBN today, tomorrow, and through to March, as you can imagine.”
He further explained, “The focus that we really are turning our attention to, especially from the financial system stability side, is that we ensure that a strengthened capital base translates into credit that is productive, that is well-targeted, and that is sustainable.”
The latest figure represents an increase from the 19 banks reported to have met the requirements as of January 6, 2026.
This indicates that about 13 banks are yet to comply fully with the CBN’s recapitalization requirements by submitting the necessary reports.
Recall that the apex bank in March 2024 set 31st March 2026 as the deadline for banks to meet various minimum capital requirements. Accordingly, CBN fixed N500 billion minimum capital requirements for international banks, N200 billion for national banks, N50 billion for merchant banks, and between N10 billion and N20 billion for non-interest banks.
