FirstHoldCo Announces FirstBank Has Met ₦500 Billion Regulatory Capital Requirement As Shareholders Commit To Future Injection Of More Capital

<h4>FirstHoldCo Announces FirstBank Has Met ₦500 Billion Regulatory Capital Requirement<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that First HoldCo Plc has announced that its commercial banking subsidiary&comma; First Bank of Nigeria &lpar;FirstBank&rpar;&comma; has successfully met the Central Bank of Nigeria’s &lpar;CBN&rpar; minimum capital requirement of ₦500 billion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This milestone was achieved following the completion of a series of strategic capital initiatives&comma; including a Rights Issue&comma; a Private Placement&comma; and the injection of proceeds from the divestment of the Group’s merchant banking subsidiary&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>First HoldCo Plc is a Lagos-based financial services group building a more inclusive and sustainable financial future&period; Its diversified structure encompasses banking&comma; asset management&comma; insurance brokerage&comma; and capital markets operations&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to a statement from the Bank&comma; made available to OpenLife&comma; this successful capitalisation underscores strong market confidence in FirstHoldCo Group’s business model&comma; long-term strategy&comma; and growth prospects&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>With a fortified capital base&comma; FirstBank is positioned to accelerate its support for the real sector&comma; enhance financial inclusion&comma; and deliver innovative&comma; digitally driven customer experiences&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The recapitalisation strengthens the Group’s overall financial resilience&comma; providing a robust platform for earnings growth through business expansion&comma; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">technological innovation<&sol;a>&comma; and the pursuit of new opportunities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In March 2024&comma; the CBN directed commercial banks to raise their capital base to a minimum of ₦500 billion within a 24-month period to bolster the Nigerian banking sector’s stability and capacity&period; FirstBank has now fulfilled this requirement well ahead of the regulatory deadline&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In a related development&comma; FirstHoldCo have expressed its desire to raise fresh funding and inject additional capital into the Group’s existing subsidiaries and new business adjacencies in 2026&period; This forward-looking commitment is aimed at further enhancing service offerings and facilitating strategic expansion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Commenting on the achievement&comma; Mr&period; Femi Otedola&comma; CON&comma; Chairman of First HoldCo Plc&comma; said&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;On behalf of the Board&comma; I extend our profound gratitude to our shareholders for their trust and unwavering support throughout this capitalisation programme&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong> From the oversubscribed Rights Issue to the seamless Private Placement&comma; investors have demonstrated resounding confidence in our strategic direction&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;Securing FirstBank’s capital base ahead of schedule is a testament to our collective commitment and positions us firmly for our next growth phase&period; We also appreciate the professional guidance of the CBN and SEC throughout this process&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Mr&period; Wale Oyedeji&comma; Group Managing Director of First HoldCo Plc&comma; added&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;This successful capital raise is a pivotal milestone for FirstHoldCo&period; It provides us with the financial strength to execute our core strategic priorities&colon; driving innovation&comma; delivering superior customer value&comma; and enhancing sustainable profitability&period; <&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong>&&num;8220&semi;With this solid foundation&comma; we are focused on accelerating performance&comma; improving competitive returns&comma; and delivering lasting value to all our stakeholders&period;”<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;