‘7 international, 15 national’ — CBN updates list of licensed banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has updated the list of deposit money banks operating in the country.

This was disclosed in a circular published on May 7 on its website and titled ‘List of Deposit Money Banks and Other Financial Institutions as of 26th April 2024’.

TheCable observed the number of deposit money banks moved from 34 in 2020 to 44 in the latest list.

Also, the CBN disclosed Union Bank‘s licence was downgraded from international to national.

Globus Bank, Premium Trust Bank, and Optimus Bank upgraded their licence to the national category.

A further breakdown of the latest list of DMBs by the CBN shows seven banks are under the commercial banking category with international licences, 15 banks with commercial banking licences are under the national category, and four are authorised for regional operations.

Also on the list are four non-interest banks with national licences and six banks with merchant banking licences with national authorisation.

CBN disclosed Nigeria has seven financial holdings companies (HoldCo), while the country has one representative office called the Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited.

Full list of banks and their categories

International Lenders

1. Zenith Bank
2. Guaranty Trust Bank
3. First City Monument Bank (FCMB )
4. Access Bank 
5. United Bank of Africa (UBA)
6. Fidelity Bank 
7. First Bank of Nigeria (FBN)

National Licenced

1. Citibank Nigeria
2. Ecobank Nigeria 
3. Heritage Bank 
4. Globus Bank 
5. Keystone Bank 
6. Polaris Bank 
7. Stanbic  IBTC Bank 
8. Standard Chartered Bank 
9. Sterling Bank 
10. Titan Trust Bank 
11. Union Bank 
12. Unity Bank 
13. Wema Bank 
14. Premium Trust Bank 
15. Optimus Bank

Regional Licenced 

1. Providus Bank
2. Parallax Bank 
3. Suntrust Bank 
4. Signature Bank 

Non-Interest Lenders

1. Jaiz Bank 
2. Taj Bank 
3. Lotus Bank 
4. Alternative Bank

Merchant Licenced 

1. Coronation Merchant Bank
2. FBN Merchant Bank 
3. FSDH Merchant Bank
4. Greenwich Merchant Bank 
5. Nova Merchant Bank 
6. Rand Merchant Bank

Financial Holding Companies 

1. Access Holdings
2. FBN Holdings
3. Guaranty Trust Holdings
4. FCMB Holdings
5. FSDH Holdings
6. Stanbic IBTC  Holdings
7. Sterling  Financial Holdings

Representative Office 

1. The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited.

On March 29, CBN announced an upward review of the minimum capital requirements for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks.

The apex bank said the increase was necessary due to prevailing macroeconomic challenges and headwinds occasioned by external and domestic shocks.

CBN advised banks unable to meet the required capital base to downgrade their licence.