Citibank Nigeria Limited has joined the list of banks that have met their recapitalisation thresholds as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It was gathered that Citigroup injected an undisclosed fresh capital into its Nigerian unit to reach the N200 billion mark ahead of the March 2026 deadline.
The lender, which has a national banking license, joins a host of other banks like Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Ecobank Nigeria, Wema Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and GTBank, among others, that have attained their required capital levels. Also, non-interest banks like Jaiz Bank and Lotus Bank have met the target.
“With a strengthened balance sheet, Citi is ready to expand support for clients across priority sectors, including infrastructure, energy and trade,” Citi Bank said in a statement, as per Bloomberg. “It is a statement of confidence in Nigeria’s future and a deliberate investment in its next chapter of growth,” according to the lender that’s operated in Africa’s most populous nation for 41 years.”
Under the governorship of Mr Yemi Cardoso, the CBN increased the minimum capital requirement for lenders to strengthen the industry against risk from high inflation, a weakening economy, and a Naira devaluation as it eyes becoming a $1 trillion econony by 2030.
Banks operating within the country were required to increase capital to N200 billion from N25 billion while those operating internationally were ordered to grow capital to N500 billion from N50 billion.
In September, Mr Cardoso, who once worked at Citibank, announced during the 302nd Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that only 14 lenders out of 36 financial institutions had met the deadline.
“Members also acknowledge the significant progress in the ongoing bank recapitalisation exercise, as 14 banks have fully met the new capital requirement. They therefore urge the bank to continue the implementation of policies and initiatives that will ensure the successful completion of the ongoing recapitalisation exercise.”