On June 14, the CBN time-bound prudential measures for banks still under regulatory forbearance, as part of its broader recapitalisation programme set to conclude by March 31, 2026.
CBN directed banks to suspend dividend payments to shareholders temporarily, bonuses to directors and senior management staff, and halt investments in foreign subsidiaries or new offshore ventures to enhance capital buffers and provisioning adequacy for their forbearance exposure and single obligor limits (SOL).
On Monday, Renaissance Capital named FCMB as by the CBN directive.
In a statement on Tuesday signed by Funmi Adedibu, the company’s secretary, FCMB Group said it has made “significant progress” in resolving legacy credit exposures and maintaining capital adequacy above regulatory thresholds.
The lender said it plans to bring a debtor, currently under SOL forbearance, within regulatory limits by converting a recently concluded N23.1 billion convertible loan into equity.
“The Bank has one (1) additional obligor (classified as a Stage 1 loan since drawdown to date) on the CBN forbearance for Single Obligor Limit (SOL). This Obligor will be brought within SOL limit by September 30, 2025, following the conversion to equity of a recently concluded N23.1 billion Convertible Loan and audited nine (9) months projected retained earnings,” FCMB added.
“The Group has already received CBN approval for the capital verification of the Convertible Loan and we are currently processing the other regulatory approvals required.
“We intend to conclude this process, including downstreaming the capital proceeds to the Bank by the end of July 2025.
“This would effectively take the Share Capital and Share Premium of the Bank to -N267 billion. Capital Adequacy will remain above the regulatory minimum of 15% for international banks post forbearance, reinforced with the addition of the converted equity by July 2025 and the planned audit of nine (9) months retained earnings.”
FCMB SAYS IT HAS REDUCED OTHER LOANS UNDER CBN FORBEARANCE
While assuring stakeholders of its capacity to exit the regulatory forbearance regime of the CBN, FCMB said it has been able to reduce its banking subsidiary loans under CBN forbearance by N331.2 billion in eight months.
“FCMB Group’s Nigerian Banking Subsidiary currently has loans under CBN forbearance (credit exposures to 3 entities and 2 obligors) amounting to N207.6 billion as at 31st May 2025 (down from N538.8 billion as at September 30th, 2024),” the bank said.
“These are currently classified as Stage 2 loans. The Bank has made provisions for these loans over the last few years, and intensified resolution efforts have led to over 60% reduction in its credit forbearance exposures.
“Once these loans exit the CBN forbearance regime, we anticipate that this would lead to an initial spike in Stage 3 loans to -11.5% of the total loan book which would decline below 10% by the end of the financial year, based on anticipated loan book growth.”
The bank assured stakeholders of maintaining strong capital buffers and dividend payment capabilities, adding that it remains financially sound and fully committed to regulatory compliance.
FCMB said its banking subsidiary accounted for 46 percent of its 2024 dividend and that it expects to maintain sufficient buffers to support shareholder returns in 2025 and beyond.
