Only two Tier 1 banks, Zenith Bank and Access Holdings Plc, have surpassed the N500 bn share capital and share premium threshold set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for banks with international licences, Proshare report has revealed.

The report, titled ‘Tier 1 Banks Report: Getting Bigger, Braver, and Dominant – The Class of 2025’, stated that Zenith Bank leads with a share capital and share premium of N614.65bn, followed by AccessCorp at N594.90bn. Other Tier 1 banks, including Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Guaranty Trust Holding Company, are trailing behind with N353.51 bn and N345.30 bn, respectively.

“All Tier 1 banks are licensed for international operations. However, tier 1 borderline banks (the highest-ranked tier 2 banks) have also chosen to achieve N500bn share capital to compete aggressively in the emerging global and continental banking markets,” the report stated.

The analysts noted a shift in dynamics within the banking hierarchy, with ETI displacing Zenith Bank from the top of the Tier 1 ladder, largely due to its 67.11 per cent asset growth, driven mainly by its francophone West African operations.

According to the report, Fidelity Bank, despite a recent N225bn Supreme Court judgement liability tied to its legacy acquisition of FSB International Bank, is projected to return to Tier 1 classification by the end of the 2025 financial year. The report stated that Fidelity Bank could still maintain adequate liquidity if it strategically managed the impact of the judgement.

Proshare analysts also evaluated the broader implications of the recapitalisation drive, especially amid shifting customer expectations and banking trends.

“The recapitalisation of Nigerian banks is not new, but the era in which it is now happening is different,” the report noted. “The contemporary era is hinged on a shift in the needs of bank customers. It is more aligned with the transactional needs of customers for bespoke services.”

The report further pointed out that while asset size has traditionally been used to rank banks, asset growth is becoming equally significant in measuring market dynamics. By asset growth, the top five banks include ETI (67.11 per cent), Wema Bank (59.82 per cent), FCMB (59.46 per cent), FirstHoldco (56.60 per cent), and AccessCorp (55.49 per cent).

However, the report flagged concerns about non-performing loans and suboptimal use of balance sheet leverage in the Nigerian banking sector.

“While off-balance sheet transactions have grown exponentially globally, this type of banking operation remains relatively underutilised in Nigeria,” it added.

Despite potential short-term pressures on return on equity and capital employed, the report said the long-term outlook remains positive as banks enhance capital adequacy ratios and risk management frameworks in response to the recapitalisation mandate.

Proshare concluded that the recapitalisation timeline set by the CBN, ending in March 2026, remains realistic, with most banks making visible progress, although a few banks are lagging behind.