By Monsuru Durojaiye

For much of Nigeria’s financial history, merchant banking has quietly played a foundational, though often underestimated role. From trade finance and corporate advisory in the 1960s to today’s strategic intermediation and capital structuring, the journey of merchant banking has mirrored the nation’s broader economic transformation. Yet, in recent years, the sector has begun to reassert its relevance, not only as financial intermediaries but as strategic enablers, helping institutions navigate a more complex, regulated, and opportunity-rich environment.

Coronation Merchant Bank (CMB), established under a focused wholesale banking model, stands at the heart of this new chapter. As regulatory clarity improves, financial institutions deepen their need for agility, and Nigeria’s capital markets expand, merchant banks like CMB are emerging as enablers of resilience and catalysts of value across both bank and non-bank segments.

A Legacy Reclaimed: From Trade Roots to Institutional Relevance

The merchant banking sector traces its roots to the 1960s with the emergence of institutions like ICON Limited and Nigerian Acceptances Limited (now Sterling Bank), which provided early support in trade finance, leasing, and project finance. Through the 1980s and 1990s, merchant banks took on a more expansive role which included underwriting public offerings, advising on mergers and acquisitions, managing portfolios, and facilitating restructurings.

However, the 2005 consolidation exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reshaped the landscape, leading many merchant banks to either convert into commercial banks or merge into larger entities, fading merchant bank’s identity. This changed with the CBN’s 2010 reintroduction of a dedicated merchant banking license, explicitly separating them from retail-focused institutions and restoring their corporate-centric mandate. CMB’s establishment under this regime marked a return to focused, wholesale banking. More than filling a gap, the Bank has played a key role in reimagining what merchant banking should represent in a modern economy, precision, partnership, and institutional focus.

Delivering Impact: CMB’s Role in Capital Markets, FI Banking, and Innovation

Over the last decade, merchant banks have repositioned themselves as critical enablers of capital formation, particularly in an era where traditional funding routes are under pressure, and CMB has stepped up with a suite of landmark transactions that reflect both scale and sophistication.

In the capital markets space, the Bank played a central role in Access Holdings Plc’s N351 billion equity raise and participated significantly in Zenith Bank Plc’s N350.5 billion and FCMB Group Plc’s N144.6 billion capital offerings.

In the debt market, CMB has structured commercial paper transactions for Nigeria’s corporate giants: N232.6 billion for Dangote Cement Plc, N125.6 billion for Dangote Sugar, and N114.4 billion for MTN. In 2023, the Bank led the Coronation Infrastructure Fund’s issuance, raising N8.79bn to support Nigeria’s infrastructure ambitions. Meanwhile, CMB’s role in the N2.821 trillion merger between Access Pensions and ARM Pensions demonstrated its ability to facilitate strategic consolidation at scale.

Beyond capital markets, merchant banks are increasingly essential to the broader financial ecosystem, especially within the Financial Institutions (FI) segment. CMB has become a go-to partner for pension fund administrators (PFAs), insurance firms, asset managers, fintechs, and development finance institutions (DFIs). The Bank’s support ranges from structured liquidity solutions and advisory to capital raises and regulatory compliance.

What sets merchant banks apart, particularly CMB, is their ability to deliver specialized services with agility. With little exposure to retail banking, CMB adopts a high-touch, institution-first approach, offering curated solutions that address deeper financial structuring needs. Importantly, CMB is also embracing innovation.

The Bank is exploring digital onboarding platforms, embedded financial services, API connectivity for institutional clients, and solution driven treasury tools. These initiatives aim to not only improve client experience but also deepen competitiveness in a market where speed, regulatory alignment, and customization define leadership.

Charting the Road Ahead: Opportunities, Obligations

As Nigeria’s economy contends with multiple inflection points, from rising capital thresholds to shifting demographics and fast-growing institutional savings, the merchant banking model is primed for reinvention.

Within the asset management space, the steady rise in assets under management (AUM) is fueling demand for diversification beyond traditional fixed income, prompting merchant banks like CMB to introduce foreign currency investment products, custodial solutions, and thematic vehicles that expand the investment landscape. At the same time, Nigeria’s pension industry, with its multi-trillion-naira pool of long-term savings, presents a compelling opportunity to channel patient capital into productive sectors such as infrastructure and real assets. CMB is uniquely positioned to structure investment solutions that align with pension fund obligations, thereby deepening market participation and fostering sustainable growth. Meanwhile, the insurance sector, on the cusp of recapitalization and consolidation under the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Bill, offers another frontier. As insurers strive to meet new solvency thresholds, merchant banks can step in as transaction advisors and underwriters, facilitating capital raises, strategic mergers, and regulatory realignment efforts with the expertise and precision the moment demands.

Fintechs represent the most dynamic frontier. As these firms mature from consumer-focused platforms into

infrastructure-scale institutions, their capital needs are becoming more complex. Merchant banks like CMB can serve as structuring partners and funding collaborators, offering liquidity tools, regulatory guidance, and B2B financial infrastructure that help fintechs scale responsibly.

In this shifting landscape, the role of the merchant bank has evolved from transactional financier to strategic partner. Institutions today are not merely seeking capital; they seek assurance that their partners understand regulatory nuance and can structure solutions with precision. This is where CMB continues to stand out.

From its strategic partnerships with DFIs like Proparco and Fiducia for expanding supply chain financing for mid-sized corporates, to its investment in digital treasury infrastructure, CMB is driving innovation across enterprise banking, helping bridge Nigeria’s vast infrastructure gap by structuring project bonds, preparing bankable Public-Private Partnerships, and collaborating with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), subnational governments and DFIs to deliver real assets. In doing so, merchant banks are becoming catalysts, mobilizing capital, fostering trust, and converting ambition into investible opportunities that advance national development and economic resilience.

To remain relevant and impactful, merchant banks must go beyond execution. They must serve as long-term partners, offering not just capital but confidence. Institutions are looking for trusted hands to guide them through uncertainty, and CMB is responding by building lasting relationships anchored in deep expertise, agile thinking, and unwavering client commitment.

Monsuru Durojaiye is the Head, Financial Institutions, Coronation Merchant Bank. He is a seasoned financial services executive with about 20 years of experience driving business growth, profitability, processes, controls, and innovation across financial institutions. With deep expertise in relationship management, sales, banking operations and strategic partnership development, he is known for blending commercial insight with operational discipline to deliver measurable results.