As Nigeria advances toward its March 2026 bank recapitalisation deadline, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a decisive end to COVID-era regulatory forbearance and loan waivers, signaling a return to stricter oversight and stronger capital standards.
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In a circular dated June 20, 2025 and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Dr. Olubukola Akinwunmi, the CBN directed all banks with capital shortfalls to submit detailed Capital Restoration Plans by Monday, July 14, 2025—10 working days after the end of Q2.
The new measures marked the conclusion of pandemic-era waivers, including those on Single Obligor Limits (SOL) and regulatory forbearance. Effective June 30, 2025, all credit exposures must comply fully with existing Prudential Guidelines and applicable regulations.
To support asset quality clean-up, the CBN is allowing the immediate write-off of fully provisioned loans tied to prior forbearance measures, waiving the one-year retention rule. This is expected to reduce non-performing loan (NPL) ratios and improve overall asset health.
Additionally, the CBN has temporarily lifted caps on the recognition of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital in Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) calculations from June 30, 2025, through March 31, 2026. This is aimed at strengthening capital buffers during the transition but does not replace the broader recapitalisation programme initiated in March 2024.
Earlier restrictions on dividend payments, executive bonuses, and foreign investments remain in force until capital and provisioning levels are fully restored.
Banks are also required to submit quarterly disclosures detailing provisioning status, reconciled credit exposures, CAR figures with and without reliefs, and AT1 instrument data.
Capital plans must outline strategies such as cost-cutting, asset reduction, risk transfers, and business model adjustments, and will be subject to regulatory approval and ongoing supervisory review.
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