As part of measures to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new capital requirements for banks with international authorization, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) on Friday announced a capital injection of N365.85 billion into its flagship subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (GTBank).
GTCO secretary Erhi Obebeduo , who disclosed this in a statement, said the move was made at a regulatory filing on Friday and was executed through a rights issue involving the issuance of nearly 7 billion ordinary shares of GTBank to GTCO.
According to Obebedio, this strategic transaction raises GTBank’s share capital from N138.186 billion to N504.037 billion, surpassing the CBN’s mandated minimum of N500 billion for internationally licensed commercial banks.
“Through this capital injection, the share capital of GTBank has been increased from N138.186 billion to N504.037 billion and ensures the bank’s compliance with the new minimum capital requirement for commercial banks with international authorisation stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the statement read.
The capital raise comes amid a sector-wide race to comply with the CBN’s recapitalisation directive issued in March 2024.
The directive requires commercial banks to bolster their capital bases by March 2026, following economic headwinds including the naira’s sharp devaluation and persistent inflationary pressures.
With this latest development, GTBank now joins tier-1 lenders Access Bank and Zenith Bank in meeting the new capital threshold, reinforcing its position in Nigeria’s banking landscape. The injection not only secures GTBank’s international banking license but also positions it for strategic expansion.
GTCO confirmed that the additional equity will be deployed to expand GTBank’s branch network, grow its asset base, including loans and investment securities, and enhance its information technology infrastructure. The bank also aims to leverage emerging opportunities across Nigeria and other markets where it operates.
“The additional equity capital will be deployed by GTBank primarily for branch network expansion and asset growth (loans/advances and investment securities portfolio), fortification of its information technology infrastructure, and to leverage emerging opportunities in Nigeria and the operating environments where it maintains banking presence,” GTCO stated.
The recapitalisation programme was approved at GTCO’s 2024 Annual General Meeting and executed in two phases with full regulatory clearance. Following the allotment, GTCO retains 100% ownership of GTBank.
