Banking
CBN to Resume LDR Policy, Unfreezes Accounts of AbokiFX, Others
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered banks to vacate a Post-No-Debit (PND) restriction earlier imposed on the bank accounts of 440 individuals and companies.
The central bank has also informed commercial banks in the country that it would resume the enforcement of the Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR) policy effective July 31, 2023.
A PND is one instrument through which the CBN gives powers to stop customers from operating their bank accounts with the permission of the courts.
The central bank conveyed the vacation of restriction in a circular dated July 25, 2023, which was signed by Mr A.M. Barau on behalf of the CBN Director, Banking Supervision Department, and addressed to all banks.
The correspondence read, “You are hereby directed to vacate the Post-No-Debit restriction placed on the accounts of the under-listed bank customers at our instance.”
The apex bank further mandated the banks to inform the concerned customers of the vacation accordingly.
Some of the affected accounts included Fortune-K Resources and Investment Nigeria Limited, Voomos Limited, BoxII Limited, OP Amber, KIIPay Limited, Blake Excellence Resort, and Vanu Nigeria Limited.
Others are Bakori Mega Services, Ashambrakh General Enterprise, Namuduka Ventures Limited, Crosslinks Capital and Investment Limited, IGP Global Synergy Limited, Davedan Mille Investment Limited and Urban Laundry, Advanced Multi-Links Services Limited, Spray Resources, Al-Ishaq Global Resources Limited, Himark Intertrades, Charblecom Concept Limited, Wudatage Global Resources, Whales Oil and Gas, Mosinox Oil and Gas and A.A. Gwad Ventures.
Those also listed included Treynor Soft Ventures, Fyrstrym Global Concepts Limited, Samarize Global Nigeria Limited, Zahraddeen Haruna Shahru, FirmCoin Resources and SIBT Acuracy, and CrossLinks Energy Limited, among others.
On the LDR policy, the apex bank said the move followed the January 7, 2020, directive, which required banks to maintain a minimum LDR of 65 per cent.
The CBN, in a letter addressed to the banks and signed by Mr Abu Shebe, on behalf of the CBN Director of Banking Supervision, further explained that the resumption of enforcement was in line with the objective of the policy and the need to moderate industry excess liquidity.
Consequently, the CBN warned that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) with LDR below the minimum requirement as of the date and monthly thereafter would be liable to a Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) surcharge of up to 50 per cent of the lending shortfall implied by the target LDR.
The bank added that the DMBs would be duly notified of their respective LDR position and basis of surcharges, if any.
On July on July 3, 2019, the central bank, in an effort to stimulate the economy, mandated banks to keep a minimum LDR – defined as a loan-to-funding ratio – of 60.0 per cent, which was later reviewed upward to 65.0 per cent on September 30, 2019, to encourage banks to increase consumer, mortgage, and corporate credits thereby stimulating aggregate demand, output growth, and employment.
The LDR is the total value of loan facilities issued divided by the aggregate value of deposits mobilized and has both liquidity and solvency implications in the short-medium and medium to long-term horizons.
According to the CBN, this underscores the need to measure the impact of LDR on banks’ liquidity to ensure the achievement of the mandate of the bank – to promote a sound financial system in the country – without compromising the health of domestic banks.
The justification for the LDR policy was also to encourage banks to enhance credit delivery to the real sector of the economy.
The apex bank, in the January 2020 letter to all banks, stated that it noticed a remarkable increase in the size of gross credit by the DMBs to customers.
Accordingly, the apex bank decided to retain the minimum 65 per cent LDR in the interim and directed the banks to maintain the level.
The CBN noted that the incentive, which assigned a weight of 150 per cent with respect to lending to SMEs, retail, mortgage, and consumer lending, will continue to apply, while failure to achieve the target shall continue to attract a levy of additional CRR of 50 per cent of the lending shortfall of the target LDR on or before March 30, 2020.
The banks were further advised to maintain strong risk management practices regarding their lending operations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
First Holdco Plc has commenced a public offer to raise about N1.4 trillion (approximately $1 billion) after securing approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The offer, which opened on Monday, involves the sale of 10.4 billion ordinary shares, according to the chief executive of its banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr Olusegun Alebiosu.
The capital raise follows the company’s earlier plan to transfer about a quarter of its shares to RC Investment Management Ltd., which served as a bridge holder after Barbican Capital Limited exited its investment in the lender amid a prolonged ownership and leadership dispute.
First Holdco had previously indicated that the shares would eventually be offered to the investing public once the necessary regulatory approvals were obtained.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Alebiosu said proceeds from the offer would strengthen the capital base of First Bank and support the holding company’s expansion strategy.
According to him, the group intends to diversify beyond banking by establishing an insurance underwriting business and a fintech services company.
“The sale is starting today — the reality here is that I am not sure it will stay more than one week based on the pressure we are getting,” Mr Alebiosu said, expressing confidence in strong investor demand.
Investors appeared to respond positively to the announcement, with First HoldCo’s shares climbing as much as 5.9 per cent to a record high during trading on Monday before easing to a 3.1 per cent gain at N133.60 by early afternoon in Lagos.
The lender has been one of the best-performing banking stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited over the past year, with its share price rising more than fourfold since July 2025, when Barbican Capital’s stake was transferred to RC Investment Management.
The fresh capital injection comes as its largest shareholder, Mr Femi Otedola, continues to strengthen his stake in Nigeria’s oldest bank. With the billionaire holding around a 26 per cent stake in the company, analysts say he has his eyes set on full control once his equity crosses the 30 per cent mark.
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of Nigeria’s top digital banks, PalmPay, has appointed a former executive of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr Samuel Oluyemi, as its chief operating officer.
In his new role, Mr Oluyemi will oversee the financial technology company’s operations in Nigeria, where it offers a broad range of digital financial services to individuals and businesses.
Mr Oluyemi will also engage with regulators to ensure the company’s expansion aligns with Nigeria’s financial, digital and social inclusion objectives.
Prior to joining the company, Mr Oluyemi spent more than two decades at NIBSS, where he served as business development lead.
During his tenure, he drove the development of several critical payment infrastructure projects, including the digital validation of Nigerian international passports, e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (EPCCOS).
Also, he played a key role in the introduction and early adoption of the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform, Nigeria’s first real-time interbank transfer system launched in 2011, and later supported its extension to other financial institutions.
Mr Oluyemi obtained a master’s degree in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan and has participated in several local and international professional training programmes.
Commenting on the appointment, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr Chika Nwosu, said that the company was strengthening its leadership team to support its longterm vision.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa’s most valuable fintech, Flutterwave, has signalled that its long-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) remains firmly on the back burner as the company intensifies efforts to transform itself into a licensed financial institution across the continent.
The firm’s chief executive, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, said the firm is focused on building sustainable profitability, diversifying its revenue streams and expanding its banking footprint before considering a stock market listing.
Speaking to The Africa Report, Mr Agboola described an IPO as a future financing milestone rather than an immediate strategic objective.
“An IPO is a financing event, not a strategy,” he said. “We are not holding any pressure to go public. This gives us the flexibility to be patient and ensure when we do list, we’re doing so from a position of strength.”
The comments come as Flutterwave embarks on an acquisition-led expansion strategy aimed at securing banking licences and deeper regulatory access across Africa.
Mr Agboola revealed that the company is currently in the process of acquiring a bank in East Africa, though he declined to disclose the institution or country involved.
The planned acquisition is expected to provide Flutterwave with an established customer base, existing banking infrastructure and regulatory approvals, significantly shortening the time required to enter new financial services markets.
According to Mr Agboola, the company’s expansion priorities include Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and Egypt, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia remain under consideration for future growth.
Rather than building banks from scratch in every market, Flutterwave intends to adopt a mix of acquisitions, licences and strategic partnerships depending on local regulatory conditions.
“The vision is not to form a bank in every country but to ensure that every African business has access to more than financial services,” Mr Agboola said in the interview.
The banking push follows recent regulatory and corporate developments, including the Central Bank of Nigeria’s approval of Flutterwave’s banking licence and the acquisition of open banking startup Mono.
Together, the moves underscore a broader strategy to expand beyond payments and establish new revenue streams in lending, liquidity management and business banking services.
Flutterwave plans to focus on institutional deposits from businesses already using its platform rather than competing aggressively for retail deposits.
The company intends to leverage transaction data from its payments network to provide short-term working capital, merchant financing, invoice discounting and trade finance products for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Agboola disclosed that the bulk of the capital earmarked for banking operations will be directed toward credit support and liquidity buffers, with additional allocations for lending and banking infrastructure.
The strategy reflects a growing trend among African fintech firms seeking banking licences to reduce dependence on traditional financial institutions and gain greater control over settlement, liquidity management and product development.
Despite speculation about a near-term public listing, Mr Agboola maintained that Flutterwave’s immediate focus remains execution and growth.
He noted that the company will only consider an IPO after achieving stronger profitability and establishing scale across its payments, banking and remittance businesses.
In February 2025, he told Bloomberg that Flutterwave would only pursue a public offering after becoming profitable. He also stated in late 2024 that the company was “not in the IPO race.”
Founded in 2016, Flutterwave has processed more than one billion transactions valued at over $40 billion across 35 African countries. The company recently secured fresh funding that lifted its valuation to $3.3 billion, with American blockchain firm Ripple leading the investment round.
For now, however, Flutterwave appears more interested in building the foundations of a pan-African financial institution than rushing to the public markets, positioning banking expansion as the next phase of its growth story while keeping an eventual IPO firmly on the long-term horizon.
