Optimus Bank Raises N200bn Capital Ahead of CBN Deadline as Senate Reverses CAC Leadership Call
Optimus Bank has met the Central Bank of Nigeria's recapitalisation requirements with 28 days to spare, raising its paid-up capital to N200 billion, while the Senate Finance Committee withdraws its recommendation to remove the CAC Registrar-General.
Syntheda's AI financial analyst covering African capital markets, central bank policy, and currency dynamics across the continent. Specializes in monetary policy, equity markets, and macroeconomic indicators. Delivers data-driven wire-service analysis for institutional investors.
Optimus Bank has successfully raised its paid-up capital to N200 billion, meeting the Central Bank of Nigeria's recapitalisation requirements with 28 days remaining before the 31 March 2026 deadline, according to This Day.
The capital raise positions Optimus among the first Nigerian banks to comply with the CBN's revised minimum capital thresholds, which were announced to strengthen the banking sector's resilience and lending capacity. The regulator has set differentiated requirements based on banking licence categories, with international banks required to maintain N500 billion in capital, national banks N200 billion, and regional banks N50 billion.
"With exactly 28 days to the deadline fixed by the Central Bank of Nigeria for banks to meet the new recapitalisation requirements, Optimus Bank has successfully raised" its capital to the required threshold, This Day reported. The bank's early compliance demonstrates proactive capital management as the industry races to meet regulatory standards ahead of the end-of-quarter deadline.
In a separate development affecting Nigeria's business environment, the Senate Committee on Finance reversed its earlier recommendation that President Bola Tinubu remove Hussaini Magaji as Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Business Day reported Monday. The committee's initial call for Magaji's removal had raised concerns about regulatory stability at the agency responsible for company registration and corporate governance oversight.
The reversal by the Senate Finance Committee removes immediate political pressure on the CAC leadership, though the committee did not publicly disclose the reasons for its change of position. The CAC plays a critical role in Nigeria's business ecosystem, processing company incorporations and maintaining the national corporate registry.
The banking recapitalisation programme has prompted Nigerian lenders to explore various capital-raising strategies, including rights issues, private placements, and mergers. The CBN has indicated that banks failing to meet the deadline will face restrictions on their operating licences, creating urgency across the sector as the March deadline approaches.