Amid the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive halting dividend payments, bonuses and new foreign investments for banks under regulatory forbearance, the affected financial institutions, on Wednesday, unveiled detailed plans to exit the forbearance regime and strengthen their capital positions.
The regulatory shake-up, which aims to bolster capital adequacy ratios and reinforce financial stability, sent ripples through the banking sector.
This has caused the stock market to dip, as investors have been selling off their banking stocks to lock in profits for two straight days.
However, both Zenith bank and FCMB have sought to calm investor nerves, outlining roadmaps to full compliance and affirming their ability to maintain dividend payouts in 2025.
Responding decisively to investor concerns, the bank in a notice issued by its Company Secretary, Michael Otu, disclosed that its exposure under the CBN’s forbearance framework was limited to just one obligor under the Single Obligor Limit (SOL) and two additional customers with non-performing loans.
The bank emphasised that full provisioning for these exposures will be completed by June 30, 2025, aligning with the CBN’s forbearance exit timeline.
