NOVA Bank Opens First Branch, Shareholders Pledge Additional Investment to Meet CBN’s Capital Requirements
Adebowale Oyedeji, Managing Director of NOVA Bank Limited, announced that shareholders have committed to providing additional capital to support the bank’s operations and meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new capital requirements. Oyedeji spoke at the opening ceremony of NOVA’s first branch as a national commercial bank in Lagos on Tuesday.
“The shareholders have pledged to bring in capital via rights issue that will enable us to have the capital required before the CBN deadline,” Oyedeji said.
On March 29, the CBN increased the minimum capital requirements for various types of banks due to prevailing macroeconomic challenges. The new capital base for commercial banks with international licenses is set at N500 billion, while national and regional license holders must meet N200 billion and N50 billion, respectively. Merchant banks with national licenses now require N50 billion, and non-interest banks have new requirements of N20 billion for national and N10 billion for regional licenses.
NOVA Bank’s shareholders had previously brought in additional capital last year, allowing the bank to operate as a commercial bank. “We have our shareholders, who last year, brought in additional capital to enable us to scale the huddle to operate as a commercial bank today,” Oyedeji added.
Phillips Oduoza, NOVA’s Chairman, explained the rationale behind the bank’s transition to a national commercial bank. “NOVA has long-term goals of impacting society, and this is one of the reasons why we decided to extend to commercial banking business,” Oduoza said. “We want to impact the Nigerian economy as a whole. We want to assist in job creation and the stability of the country, which Mr. President has been working on.”
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos expressed gratitude to the bank’s shareholders and customers for their support. He emphasized the importance of private sector participation in achieving President Bola Tinubu’s goal of a $1 trillion economy within the next seven to eight years. “The federal government alone cannot achieve this feat without the help of the private sector, which are the engines of growth,” Sanwo-Olu said.
NOVA Bank’s new branch represents a significant step in its mission to contribute to the economic growth and stability of Nigeria. The state government has pledged to continue providing an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
