According to a Reuters report which quoted the apex bank at the weekend, the three banks were not named but they were said to be among the group of 14 in Nigeria that have licenses to operate as regional and national lenders, with respective capital bases of N10 billion ($50 million) and N25 billion.
The report also quoted the CBN as saying that it was monitoring the three lenders' recapitalisation plans, and that 10 others with international status met the 15 per cent minimum capital rate for that category of bank at the end of June.
The recapitalisation schedule, contained in a report dated Oct. 30, only came to light on Friday.
A number of banks had had to suspend moves to raise fresh funds as a result of the volatility in the capital market and unfavourable operating climate.
Nigerian lenders have been shoring up their balance sheets in preparation for adopting stricter international requirements that analysts say could erode capital ratios by between 100 and 400 basis points to near the regulatory minimum of 15 per cent.
Meanwhile, poor capital conditions at home due to slowing economic growth have weakened domestic markets, analysts say.
Last week, the central bank told commercial lenders to double provisions on performing loans to two per cent to build adequate buffers against unexpected losses, as liquidity ratios fall.
It said lower revenues for government and oil companies due to plunging crude prices have led to unsecured exposures for banks that are likely to increase credit risk and loan losses.
Ratings agency Moody's said this week it expected non-performing loans (NPLs) to rise above five per cent but remain below 10 per cent over the next two years as the weaker naira increases the risk of dollar loans and suppresses bank capital.
NPLs in Nigeria's banking sector rose to 4.65 per cent at the end of June due to a fall in asset quality following a devaluation of the naira and amid rising inflation, the central bank said in the report.
Stanbic IBTC last week said it had doubled its non-performing loan ratio to 8.8 per cent. The bank was also planning to raise fresh funds.
Ecobank and Skye Bank have both suspended plans to raise fresh equity owing to weak market conditions and slower loan growth.
Wema Bank, which suspended plans partly because of the naira weakness, said on Thursday it would resume a share sale next year and has started a process to raise $100 million worth of naira bonds after getting approval to switch from a regional to a national bank.
Sources close to Wema Bank told THISDAY at the weekend that Wema Bank’s books are in good shape, explaining that the regulatory authority would not have issued the bank a national licence if it was in a distress.
By coming back to the mainstream of Nigerian banking, through the issuance of a national licence, analysts believe Wema is doing well and that the recent turnaround by the bank’s management is yielding the desired results.
In a circular signed by the CBN Director of Banking Supervision, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, the apex bank stressed the need for banks to raise provision for their non-performing loans to two per cent.
The circular read, “In recent times, the adverse macro-economic environment has been a source of concern in the financial sector. It is however comforting to know that the fiscal and monetary authorities are deploying remedial policy measures to ameliorate these challenges. “Accordingly, in line with the provision of section 12.14 of the Prudential Guidelines for Deposit Money Banks 2010 (Regulators Power over Adequacy of Provisioning), banks are required to immediately increase the general provision on performing loans to 2 per cent in the prudential review of their credit portfolios. This is an attempt to ensure that adequate buffers against unexpected loan losses are built up. This directive is without prejudice to the relevant provisions of the International Financial Reporting Standards”
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