The Affiliation of Company Communication and Advertising and marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) has assured Nigerians that no {bank} within the nation faces closure on account of recapitalisation necessities, opposite to claims circulating on social media.
The peace of mind was contained in a joint assertion issued on Sunday by ACAMB President, Mr. Rasheed Bolarinwa, and Normal Secretary, Mr. Jide Sipe.
The assertion adopted an Instagram video alleging that 12 banks could be shut down by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by March 2026 for failing to fulfill capital necessities.
ACAMB described the video as deceptive and alarmist, accusing its creator of making an attempt to stoke panic and exploit misinformation for private acquire.
“The content material creator demonstrated a elementary lack of information of banking recapitalisation, making a number of misguided and deceptive assertions which might be simply disprovable by anybody with fundamental information of the Nigerian banking sector,” the affiliation mentioned.
The affiliation defined that the recapitalisation train is a proactive coverage designed to strengthen the banking system and help the Federal Authorities’s aspiration of constructing a $1 trillion financial system by 2030.
“As repeatedly defined by the CBN, the recapitalisation train is a forward-looking, proactive coverage designed to strengthen the banking system. It’s not a disaster response, neither is it a sign of misery. Reasonably, it’s a patriotic name for banks to scale up their capability to drive {economic} progress and improvement,” ACAMB famous.
Opposite to the false claims, ACAMB pressured that Nigerian banks are at the moment secure, sound, and adequately capitalised, with robust capital adequacy buffers enough to fulfill each buyer obligations and regulatory necessities.
The recapitalisation initiative, it added, focuses on strengthening core possession capital—share capital and share premium—fairly than complete shareholders’ funds or different devices resembling bonds and desire shares.
ACAMB famous that every one banks submitted recapitalisation plans to the CBN in 2024, which have been vetted and accepted for feasibility earlier than execution commenced.
“All banks have a good and reasonable likelihood of assembly their recapitalisation targets, with greater than one-third already having met theirs and most others at superior phases of implementation. In its most up-to-date evaluation, the CBN publicly expressed satisfaction with the progress made and reaffirmed that banks are on monitor to fulfill the stipulated deadlines,” the affiliation mentioned.
The assertion clarified particular claims in opposition to sure banks, noting that FirstBank, United {Bank} for Africa (UBA), Fidelity Bank, and FCMB are worldwide banks which have exceeded capital thresholds and face no danger of undercapitalisation.
It added that Citibank Nigeria and Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria stay robust subsidiaries of their world mother and father, whereas Sterling Bank has accomplished key phases of recapitalisation, together with non-public placement and rights points. Polaris Bank and different establishments talked about even have clear recapitalisation pathways and stay operationally sound.
ACAMB recalled that CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, had acknowledged in November that the recapitalisation train “is progressing in an orderly method and in keeping with regulatory expectations.”
The affiliation emphasised that Nigeria’s 44 deposit-taking banks throughout varied licence classes proceed to function underneath strict regulatory oversight, making certain stability and resilience.
The affiliation condemned the unfold of false narratives, describing them as “baseless and pushed by mischief, ignorance, and reckless disregard for the {economic} penalties of misinformation.”
It mentioned it might draw the eye of regulation enforcement businesses to such content material, notably the place it borders on false illustration, {economic} sabotage, and violations of the Cybercrime Act.
Whereas acknowledging freedom of expression, ACAMB pressured that it carries tasks of truthfulness, accuracy, and equity.
“Correct, accountable reporting is welcome and guarded; nonetheless, deliberate misinformation or panic-inducing narratives across the banking sector shall be reported to the suitable authorities within the curiosity of economic stability and public belief,” the assertion added.
The affiliation urged Nigerians to proceed their banking actions with confidence, assuring that the recapitalisation course of is designed to strengthen the sector and ship long-term advantages to the financial system.
