Zenith Bank Plc has confirmed it has successfully met the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new minimum capital requirement of ₦500 billion and is on track to exit all regulatory forbearance arrangements by June 30, 2025.
The bank disclosed this in a statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Tuesday, in response to a recent CBN circular (Reference No. BSD/DIR/CON/LAB/018/008) concerning forbearance on the Single Obligor Limit (SOL) and certain credit exposures.
Zenith Bank clarified that its SOL forbearance applies to a single customer and assured that the exposure will be brought within regulatory limits by the stipulated June 30 deadline.
The statement also noted that the forbearance granted on other credit facilities concerns only two customers, with substantial provisioning already in place and full coverage expected to be completed before the end of the month.
The bank stated:
“Zenith Bank Plc wishes to provide the following clarifications in compliance with the Rulebook of The Exchange, 2015 (Issuers’ Rules):
The bank has successfully raised and surpassed the new regulatory capital threshold of ₦500 billion.
Our exposure under the SOL forbearance relates solely to a single obligor, and we are confident this will be brought within regulatory limits by June 30, 2025.
Regarding forbearance on other credit facilities, this applies to only two customers. Substantial provisions have been made, and the bank has taken appropriate and comprehensive steps to ensure full provisioning before the deadline.”
The bank emphasized that once these steps are completed, it will no longer be under any form of CBN forbearance. It added that it expects to meet all necessary regulatory conditions to enable dividend payments to shareholders for the 2025 financial year.
“Accordingly, we remain confident that the bank will satisfy all relevant conditions to enable it pay dividend to shareholders in the current year,” the statement concluded.
