Lenders with international licence now 7, as CBN updates list

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has updated the number of deposit money banks operating in the country.

This was disclosed by the apex bank on its website with the title, “list of deposit money banks and other financial institutions as at April 26, 2024’.

From the updated list, there are seven commercial banks with international authorisation, 15 lenders with national authorisation, four commercial banking licenses with regional authorisation and four non-interest banking licenses with national authorisation.

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Also in the updated list are seven financial holding companies, and one representative office which is The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited.

The CBN in March 2024 raised the minimum capital base for banks with international authorisation at N500 billion. The apex bank also increased the minimum capital base for commercial banks holding national authorization to N200 billion, and for those with regional authorization to N50 billion.

Merchant banks now have a minimum capital requirement of N50 billion, while non-interest banks holding national and regional authorizations must adhere to new minimum requirements of N20 billion and N10 billion, respectively.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.