Nigeria: Access Bank Surpasses Recapitalisation Deadline, Exceeds New Capital Requirement

Access Bank, a subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc and Nigeria’s largest lender by total assets, has successfully exceeded the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new capital base requirement ahead of the March 2026 deadline. The milestone was achieved through the bank’s oversubscribed rights issue.

The CBN recently raised the minimum capital requirement for banks with international authorization to ₦500 billion, mandating compliance by March 2026. Access Bank has gone beyond this threshold, solidifying its financial position through its latest rights issue offering.

According to regulatory filings, Access Bank raised a total of ₦351.01 billion from the issuance of 17,772,612,811 ordinary shares, priced at ₦19.75 per share. Shareholders demonstrated strong confidence in the bank, subscribing to shares worth over ₦371.77 billion.

Of the 24,181 applications received for 18,823,585,235 ordinary shares valued at ₦371.77 billion, 18,796,809,419 shares worth ₦371.24 billion were successfully processed and validated. However, 41,650,447 shares valued at ₦822.60 million were disqualified by the CBN for procedural non-compliance. Ultimately, 18,755,158,972 shares valued at ₦370.41 billion were accepted.

Access Bank launched its rights issue on July 8, 2024, offering shareholders one new ordinary share for every two held as of June 7, 2024. The offer closed on August 23, 2024, marking a significant milestone in the bank’s recapitalization journey.

By exceeding the CBN’s ₦500 billion minimum capital requirement well ahead of schedule, Access Bank has secured its position as the first Nigerian bank to comply with the new directive. With the rights issue, the bank’s share capital now stands at ₦600 billion—₦100 billion above the regulatory minimum.

The group also assured subscribers that refunds for excess funds will be processed and returned by January 2, 2025. This development underscores Access Bank’s commitment to maintaining its leadership in the Nigerian banking sector while meeting regulatory expectations.

#AccessBank #Recapitalisation #NigerianBanking