KEY POINTS

• Signature Bank raises capital to ₦52 billion, exceeding the CBN’s ₦50 billion requirement.
• The bank achieved compliance through a rights issue that drew strong shareholder support.
• Signature Bank plans to expand lending and also deepen its digital banking offering.

Signature Bank has cleared the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation bar, pushing its capital base to ₦52 billion through a rights issue that exceeded the ₦50 billion minimum the regulator set for regional commercial banks.

The Signature Bank recapitalisation milestone adds the lender to a growing list of Nigerian banks that have met the CBN’s 2024 directive requiring institutions to strengthen their capital buffers. The CBN launched the programme to further improve financial stability across the sector, expand lending capacity, and make banks more resilient to domestic and external shocks.

Growth strategy behind the raise

Chairman Alhaji Tijjani Borodo said the successful raise reflected shareholder conviction in the bank’s direction. “A stronger capital base enhances our resilience and enables us to support businesses and communities more effectively while delivering sustainable value to stakeholders,” he said.

Furthermore, Managing Director Nixon Iwedi framed the Signature Bank recapitalisation as an enabler rather than just a compliance exercise. He said the stronger balance sheet gives the bank room to scale lending activities and push deeper into key economic regions across Nigeria.

“Our strategy remains focused on building a technology-driven bank that supports entrepreneurs, businesses, and households with innovative financial solutions,” Iwedi said.

Founded in 2022, Signature Bank operates across retail banking, SME financing, corporate banking, trade finance, treasury services, and digital payments. While its digital channels include a mobile app, USSD *647# banking, payment cards, and merchant POS solutions.

Sector-wide compliance gaining pace

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said this week that 33 Nigerian banks had successfully raised additional capital under the recapitalisation programme as of March 12, 2026, with 30 already meeting the new minimum requirements for their respective licence categories.

Signature Bank’s completion of the process adds another institution to that list and reinforces the sector’s overall push toward a more capitalised, shock-resistant banking system ahead of the programme’s final deadline.