By Muhammad Mamman
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that 14 banks have fully met the new capital requirements under its ongoing recapitalisation exercise.
CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting the communiqué from the 302nd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja. He noted that the achievement reflects “significant progress” in strengthening the banking sector.
The recapitalisation, last undertaken in 2004, set fresh thresholds earlier this year: ₦500bn for commercial banks with international licences, ₦200bn for national, and ₦50bn for regional authorisation. Merchant banks are required to meet ₦50bn, while non-interest banks must hold ₦20bn (national) and ₦10bn (regional).
The MPC also announced a cut in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points — from 27.5% to 27% — citing five consecutive months of disinflation and projected declines for the rest of 2025. Other adjustments included lowering the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks to 45% from 50%, while merchant banks’ CRR remains at 16%. A 75% CRR was introduced for non-TSA public sector deposits to tighten liquidity.
Nigeria’s external reserves, Cardoso added, stood at $43.05bn as of 11 September, up from $40.51bn in July, with an import cover of 8.28 months. The current account surplus also rose to $5.28bn in Q2 2025, compared with $2.85bn in Q1.
Cardoso assured that the reforms would boost transparency, financial stability, and economic recovery.
