The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shifted its focus from bank recapitalisation to credit creation, telling lenders that the N4.65 trillion raised should be channelled into productive sectors of the economy instead of strengthening their balance sheets
Speaking at the CNBC Africa Future of Banking Summit 2026, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso represented by Usman Moses Okpanachi, director of statistics at the CBN during his Keynote speech said the industry’s next test is how effectively it deploys the N4.65 trillion raised during the recapitalisation programme.
The recapitalisation exercise, which ended on March 31, 2026, saw 33 banks meet the new minimum capital requirements after raising N4.65 trillion, with about 73 percent of the funds coming from domestic investors and the remainder from international markets.
“The question is no longer whether the envisaged capital was raised. Rather, it is about what we will now do with the capital raised,” Cardoso said.
“A stronger banking system that lends timidly has missed the point. The capital that has been raised must find its way into the productive economy, into small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture, infrastructure, and businesses that create jobs.”
