(Reuters) – Nigeria’s central bank on Thursday announced new minimum capital requirements for banks in a bid to enhance banks’ resilience and strengthen the country’s financial system.
The Central Bank of Nigeria said it is pegging the minimum capital base for commercial banks with international authorization at 500 billion naira ($353.32 million).
The central bank said it is also setting a new minimum capital base for commercial banks with national authorization at 200 billion naira, while the new requirement for those with regional authorization will be 50 billion naira.
To help banks meet the new capital requirements, the central bank said it is urging them to consider options including fresh equity capital injections, mergers and acquisitions, and upgrading or downgrading of license authorization.
The banks have two years to meet the new capital requirements, the statement said.
Inflation in Nigeria is above 30% at an annual rate, the highest in almost three decades, fanning a cost-of-living crisis that has left millions of people in Africa’s most populous nation struggling to meet basic needs.
($1 = 1,415.1300 naira)
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)
