Banking
CBN Issues Licences to 5 New Banks to Boost Lending
By Dipo Olowookere
Five new banks have been issued operating licences by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to carry out financial services in the country, Business Day is reporting.
Relying on information from those allegedly familiar with the development, the reputable business journal said one of the new banks may commence operations this week.
However, it said most of the lenders are planning to kick off banking operations in the country before August 2019.
One of the new banks, “Globus” is said to be spearheaded by Elias Igbinakenzua, a former Executive Director at a tier one bank.
Business Post reports that in late 2016, Mr Elias Igbinakenzua resigned from Access Bank and in 2017, he became the CEO of First Aluminium Nigeria Plc.
“The Bank (Globus), whose head office is on Sanusi Fafunwa, Victoria Island, may open by May 2nd,” one of the sources quoted by Business Day said.
The second bank would go by the name “Titan” and is said to have secured the services of a former Heritage bank executive director.
Another owner of one of the new banks is said to be Indian – the former owner of Chi Limited who recently sold a majority stake to Coca Cola – and the initial strategy would be to target large Indian and Lebanese clients with investments in Nigeria especially in the manufacturing and other sectors, sources said.
The other banks remain largely anonymous but would be a mix of micro-finance, Merchant and/or deposit money banks, Business Day added.
It was reported that the apex bank is being driven by the need to attract new investments into the sector and serve the country’s over 50 million unbanked and under-banked people, even as current banks have struggled to grow loan books since an economic slump in 2016 caused bad loans to surge.
CBN spokesperson, Mr Isaac Okorafor, did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Also, three bank CEOs declined to comment, as the CBN is yet to go public on the matter.
BusinessDay gathered from sources that most of the capital needed to set up the banks were sourced locally in Nigeria.
The minimum capital requirement for a Regional bank is N10 billion, while for National banks its N25 billion and international Banks N50 billion, according to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA).
The capital requirement of microfinance banks, which was amended by the CBN in 2018, is as follows: For a Unit Microfinance bank, the requirement is N200 million, while its N1 billion and N5 billion for a State and National Microfinance bank respectively.
For a merchant bank, the minimum paid-up share capital is currently N15 billion.
Attempting to place a finger on the motivation for licensing five new banks almost out of the blue, one of the sources said, “The CBN will not want to preside over an industry that is shrinking.”
Another said “Nigeria is under-banked and investors are responding, if the CBN wants to grow credit, by N1 trillion, none of the old banks can take it. Banks available are already at capacity, in one way or another.”
The CBN has been somewhat desperate for banks to increase lending to critical sectors but an economy fraught with risks has tamed lending appetite.
Nigerian banks were unable to grow their loan books in the past year, a signal that the macroeconomic environment remains weak and non-supportive for growth.
The 12 largest lenders quoted on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) saw combined loans and advances dip by 6.37 percent to N12.34 trillion in December 2018, from N13.18 trillion a year earlier. This compares with a 25.14 percent increase between the 2013 and 2014 financial year.
The CBN is worried about the trend, Governor Godwin Emefiele indicated in the aftermath of the monetary policy committee last March.
To encourage lending to the real sector, the CBN promised to allow banks draw down from their regulatory cash buffers sitting with the apex bank, if the banks gave loans to manufacturers and players in the agriculture sector at single-digit interest rates.
The response has been largely underwhelming, with banks preferring instead to stash cash in double-digit yielding government debt where they take considerably less risk. Even the CBN’s surprise interest rate cut to 13.5 percent after keeping it at 14 percent for over two years, was not able to move the needle on lending.
The banks argue that to increase lending the CBN should instead reduce the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to free up idle funds. The effective CRR in the sector is as high as 40 percent.
Licensing five new banks can pass for the latest strategy by the CBN to boost bank lending, according to a source.
“However, if the problems that hinder the current banks from growing their loan books persist, then even the new ones will struggle,” the third source said.
Total credit to the private sector grew by a meagre 2.2 percent to N24.16 trillion, according to the CBN’s Depository Corporation survey report for February 2019, another indication of weak credit flow in the economy.
Johnson Chukwu, managing director and CEO of advisory firm, Cowry Asset Management Ltd, said the expansion in credit has been going to the public sector as yields remain attractive at between 13 and 14 percent. “The economic recovery rate has been slow and financial institutions
are cautious of booking new Non Performing Loans (NPLs),” said Chukwu.
Sources tell BusinessDay that the CBN feels that some of the current banks may be becoming a little bit removed from the needs of the average customer.
“The banking public has very few options. The bigger the bank the more distant the relationship. There is at worst an oligopoly and at best a duopoly,” the first source said.
BusinessDay learnt that the licensing is a done deal according to the processes involved which may take up to 2 years. This includes sending the name of directors to the Department of State Security
(DSS), Assistant General Manager’s and above being vetted by CBN, offices and branches inspection, staff recruitment, printing of checks and software deployment.
The emergence of the new banks is good for staff, good for signalling and will increase competition in the sector our sources said.
“When you realize CBN will not allow any bank to fail, you realize there is nothing to fear. You can go ahead and request a license,” the second source said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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