Globus Bank Limited has received a “No Objection Letter” from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), confirming that the lender has met and satisfied the N200 billion minimum capital requirement for banks operating under a national commercial banking licence.
This is a milestone that places the bank among a select group of institutions to have cleared the CBN’s verification process.
The Bank entered the CBN’s recapitalisation programme with a paid-up capital base of N45.8 billion. In the first phase, the bank raised N53 billion in 2024, lifting its capital to N98.5 billion.
The second phase, completed in 2025, combined a rights issue and a private placement that together yielded over N102 billion, pushing total paid-up capital past the regulatory threshold and taking the cumulative fresh capital raised to more than N154 billion.
The development comes ahead of the CBN’s March 31, 2026 deadline for compliance, under a recapitalisation framework first announced by Governor Yemi Cardoso in May 2024.
The policy, which mandates significant capital increases across all licence categories, was designed to fortify Nigerian banks against macroeconomic shocks, support large-scale infrastructure financing, and enhance the sector’s capacity to underwrite long-tenor transactions.
“This is a defining moment for Globus Bank and a clear validation of our strategic direction”, said Elias Igbinakenzua, managing director/CEO, Globus Bank Limited.
Speaking on the achievement, Igbinakenzua described the milestone as a validation of the bank’s long-term growth strategy. “This is a defining moment for Globus Bank and a clear validation of our strategic direction,” he said.
“Achieving and exceeding the CBN’s recapitalisation benchmark demonstrates our commitment to building a strong, resilient institution that our customers, shareholders, and the broader Nigerian economy can rely on.”
Analysts say the completion of the recapitalisation round is expected to reconfigure competitive dynamics across Nigeria’s banking landscape.
Institutions that successfully raise and verify the required capital will be better positioned to bid for government contracts, expand their trade finance and foreign currency windows, and absorb larger credit exposures, all of which were historically dominated by the country’s systemically important banks.
For Globus Bank specifically, the No Objection clearance is expected to unlock greater capacity in corporate and institutional lending, enhance its standing with correspondent banking partners, and lend additional weight to its ongoing digital and retail expansion strategy.
The bank’s management has signalled plans to deploy the strengthened capital base across enhanced product offerings, geographic expansion, and deeper market penetration.
The CBN is expected to publish a consolidated list of compliant institutions following the March 31, deadline, which will formally delineate banks that have met recapitalisation requirements from those that may face regulatory sanctions, licence downgrades, or involuntary consolidation.
Globus Bank Limited is a CBN-licensed national commercial bank headquartered in Victoria Island, Lagos, offering personal, business, corporate, and digital banking products and services across Nigeria. The bank currently has about 50 branches spread across Nigeria.
