Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN), Polaris Bank and Keystone Bank may have been granted a leeway by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to complete their recapitalisation.
Sources said the apex bank concluded to allow the ‘managed’ banks to complete the process under a regulatory window of three weeks.
The deadline given to all banks to recapitalise was March 31, and they all met the deadline.
One of the sources said the decision to give special consideration to the three banks was based on the circumstances, including legal and regulatory, faced by them.
The ‘managed’ banks need no less than N350 billion to retain their national banking licences under the new minimum capital base, which requires banks with a national commercial banking license to have a minimum share capital and share premium of N200 billion.
The three banks have the option of restructuring their operations to a regional licence, which requires a minimum capital of N50 billion.
Under the recapitalisation programme, the apex bank increased the new minimum capital for commercial banks with international affiliations, otherwise known as mega banks, to N500 billion; those with national authorisation, N200 billion and others with regional licence, N50 billion.
Merchant banks had their minimum recapitalisation benchmark set at N50 billion; non-interest banks with a national licence, N20 billion and non-interest banks with a regional licence, N10 billion
The CBN had, in January 2024, dissolved the board and management of Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank, citing non-compliance with the provisions of Section 12(c), (f), (g), (h) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.
According to the apex bank, the banks’ infractions varied from regulatory non-compliance, corporate governance failure, disregard for the conditions under which their licences were granted, and involvement in acts that posed a threat to financial stability, among others.
However, the previous owners of one of the banks had mounted vigorous legal challenges, creating uncertainty around its ownership.
The previous owners of Union Bank recently secured a Federal High Court judgment voiding its takeover by the CBN. However, the apex bank appealed the ruling.
