WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Professor Ken Ife, an economist has expressed confidence in Nigerian banks’ capacity to meet the new capital requirements set forth by regulatory authorities. Ife who is the Lead Consultant on Private Sector Development to the ECOWAS Commission emphasized that Nigerian banks, buoyed by years of robust performance and steady profitability, should not encounter significant hurdles in raising the additional capital needed to comply with regulatory directives. He spoke against the backdrop of the new minimum capital requirements for Nigerian banks as recently released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report seen by Naijaonpoint, Ife noted that the new minimum capital requirement for Nigerian banks will make them stronger and more resilient. According to the expert, the banks would have been keeping 50% of their profit and recapitalising with it over the years. He said that when recapitalisation for banks was last done in 2005, N25 billion minimum capital requirements for banks with national licenses amounted to N130 million dollars. Ife said that merger and acquisition options were also opened to banks that would not be able to recapitalise within the stipulated time frame.
Nigerian banks can meet new capital requirements amid profits surge – Expert
