Zenith Bank, Access, FCMB Respond To N1.29trn Recapitalisation Demands

Spotlight by Cami Ezenwa

There is no respite yet in the Nigerian commercial banking sector, given latest recapitalisation demands on pack leaders like Zenith Bank, Access, First City Monument Bank Plc and Fidelity in their categories.

The apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again upped the ante, in the ever evolving bid to safeguard investors’ funds and this is coming with huge expectations and sacrifices.

The money deposit banks combined are to raise a total of N1.29 trillion as the new Recapitalisation demands and that is not a meagre sum by any standards.

It comes with deployment of the best of marketing and funds mobilisation acumen that any commercial bank could mobilise, and now all eyes so to say are on them.

As initialed by the new CBN policy, the banks are to raise a combined total of N1.29trilon within three months and do so within ethical bounds. In other words, they would remain under close surveillance of the CBN while they legitimately mobilise funds to reach the accepted targets.

Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc

Not that these commercial banks have any choice anyway; beyond, sustaining their credibility rating especially before their discerning customers, they are mandatorily expected to meeting regulatory benchmarks set by the apex bank or reviewed from time to time, in response to realities in the operating environment.

READ ALSO: Court Bars Firms From Accessing N1.37b In 24 Banks

The Eagle findings show that the banks are responding adequately to the new Recapitalisation demands, from Zenith bank’s fund mobilisation drive of N290bn to Access Bank’s N351bn target, not forgetting the N127bn and N110.9bn set by Fidelity Bank FCMB respectively.

Here some backgrounds in terms of the accomplishments and mileages some of these players have achieved would help understanding.

Zenith Bank for example has for fifteen consecutive years, occupies an enviable position of Nigeria’s Number One Bank by Tier-1 Capital, going by the 2024 Top 1000 World Banks’ Rankings, published by The Banker Magazine.

It is the 565th Bank globally with a Tier-1 Capital of $2.01 billion, a rating that hints off its solid financial foundation.

“We are deeply honoured to be recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the fifteenth consecutive year.

READ ALSO: Fidelity, Zenith, Access Make List of Most Capitalized Banks in Q3…

“This recognition is a testament to our strategic focus on sustainable growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

“It also emphasises our resilience and strength in navigating the ever-evolving financial landscape. Our dedicated team of professionals has remained steadfast in ensuring that we maintain our position at the forefront of the banking industry”, declared the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, while reflecting on the ratings on the one hand, and other accomplishments on the other.

Even at its Capital Markets Day recently, a prelude to its full lunch out for the recapitilsation drive, the CEO referred to Zeniths’ shareholders’ funds of N2.3 trillion, market capitalisation of N1.3 trillion, a profit before tax of N796 billion, and a dividend of N4 per share for the year ended December 2023. Providing guidance for 2024, she noted that, given the trend of the bank’s performance and having achieved a profit before tax of N796 billion in 2023 and N320 billion in the first quarter of 2024, the bank is on track to deliver over N1 trillion in profit before tax in 2024.

Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc

For Access Bank Zambia Limited, which recently completed acquisition of African Banking Corporation Zambia Limited, trading as Atlas Mara Zambia (“Atlas Mara”) after obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals, the new recapitulation demands are nothing to fret about.

Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, said, “This marks a significant milestone for Access Bank Plc as we work towards achieving our vision of being the world’s most respected African bank.

“We are poised for success by harmonising the robust brands, rich heritage, shared values, and best practices of both companies in creating opportunities that extend to all our stakeholders in Zambia and the SADC region.”

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Beyond the values that would accrue to the bank’s customers in the Zambia region, a lot of other indices hunk the Access brand, noiselessly:

Talk of a network of more than 700 branches and service outlets spanning three continents

– 21 countries and over 65 million customers.

-Employees of over 28,000 thousand people in its operations in Africa, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and France and representative offices in China, India, and Lebanon.

Watch out for similar Spotlights on FCMB and Fidelity Banks