The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says eight commercial banks have fully met their recapitalisation requirements.
Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said this at the end of a two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Cardoso had announced the recapitalisation regime on March 28, 2024, claiming it was to strengthen Nigerian banks against external and domestic shocks and enhance the stability of the financial sector.
16 months after the recapitalisation policy, only 8 out of the 44 licensed Nigerian commercial, non-commercial and merchant banks, were able to meet the deadline.
Cardoso said, “Eight banks have fully met the recapitalisation requirements while others are making progress towards meeting the deadline.
“The committee thus urged the management of the bank [CBN] to sustain its oversight of the banking system to ensure continued resilience, safety and soundness of the financial system.”
The CBN also at the meeting announced it is retaining the benchmark interest rate, known as the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), at 27.5 percent, despite slowing inflation and sluggish economic growth.