By Boluwatife Oshadiya | April 10, 2026
Key Points
- CBN says governance and risk discipline are critical to recapitalisation success
- Regulator warns capital alone cannot guarantee banking stability
- Experts flag systemic risks amid simultaneous capital raising across sectors
Main Story
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has intensified its call for stronger governance and risk discipline as the country’s banking sector undergoes a major recapitalisation drive aimed at strengthening financial system resilience.
Speaking at a virtual risk management roundtable in Lagos, Dr Blaise Ijebor, Director of Risk Management Department and Chief Risk Officer at the CBN, said the exercise is a strategic macro-financial intervention designed to position banks for long-term stability and sustainable growth.
Ijebor, represented by Director Olabanji Samuel, noted that historical lessons from Nigeria’s 2004–2005 banking consolidation and the 2009 financial crisis show that capital adequacy alone is insufficient to safeguard financial institutions.
He explained that weak corporate governance, poor credit risk management, and incentive-driven lending practices had previously undermined otherwise well-capitalised banks, reinforcing the need for structural reforms alongside capital injections.
The ongoing recapitalisation programme, he added, aligns with global regulatory standards, incorporating stress testing, capital adequacy requirements, and recovery planning frameworks to ensure banks can absorb economic shocks without requiring public sector bailouts.
Ijebor also highlighted that the process places heightened responsibility on risk and compliance professionals, who are expected to provide forward-looking assessments on how recapitalisation, mergers, and acquisitions could reshape institutional risk profiles.
The Issues (Optional)
Nigeria’s recapitalisation push comes at a time of increasing financial system complexity, where larger balance sheets and cross-sector capital flows are creating new systemic vulnerabilities. Analysts note that while stronger capital buffers improve resilience, they must be matched with robust governance frameworks to prevent risk accumulation.
The simultaneous recapitalisation across multiple sectors is also placing pressure on market liquidity and exposing coordination gaps among regulators, raising concerns about execution risks in the broader financial ecosystem.
What’s Being Said
“Capital builds strength, but governance sustains it,” said Dr Blaise Ijebor, Director, Risk Management Department, CBN.
“Simultaneous capital raising across sectors is straining market capacity and exposing coordination gaps among regulators,” said Prof. Olufemi Awoyemi, Founder and Chairman, Proshare Ltd.
“Larger institutions require stronger risk frameworks, improved regulatory capacity, and efficient capital deployment,” said Bunmi Lawson, pioneer Managing Director/CEO, EDFIN Microfinance Bank Ltd.
What’s Next
- Banks are expected to intensify capital raising efforts ahead of regulatory deadlines
- Regulators may introduce additional supervisory frameworks to manage systemic risks
- Increased scrutiny on mergers and acquisitions as consolidation accelerates
Bottom Line (Optional)
The Bottom Line: Nigeria’s recapitalisation drive will succeed or fail not on capital size, but on governance quality. Without disciplined risk frameworks and regulatory coordination, stronger balance sheets could translate into larger systemic risks rather than stability.
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