FirstHoldCo wey Femi Otedola dey control don set target to raise another N253 billion fresh capital, as e dey move toward N1 trillion paid-up capital base. Di company wey dey run Nigeria oldest commercial bank don tell shareholders say e want make di capital reach dat level, wey go put am for special category among Nigerian lenders.
Di proposal come inside notice for di company 14th Annual General Meeting wey dey schedule for May 29, 2026. Shareholders go be ask to approve special resolution wey go allow di raise, wey di board describe as executable through any combination of public offerings, private placements, rights issues, bonus issues, scrip dividends or other equity instruments for either Nigerian or international capital markets.
Di pricing go be set through book building or another valuation method wey di board determine at di time. Di mechanics leave di board significant flexibility, but di destination clear. FirstHoldCo already cross Central Bank of Nigeria current N500 billion minimum threshold for international authorisation, wey be di higher of di two capital tiers wey di regulator introduce for im 2024 recapitalisation directive.
Getting to N1 trillion double dat floor. And dat, Otedola don make clear, na di whole point. He don dey vocal about im belief say di N500 billion threshold no enough. For im framing, Nigeria no fit credibly aim to build $1 trillion GDP while im most important financial institutions remain, as e don put am, “weakly capitalised.” He don call publicly on CBN to raise di minimum requirement for international banking licences to at least N1 trillion, and FirstHoldCo no dey wait for dat instruction before moving.
Di group dey build di argument through action rather than advocacy. Di capital push sit on top of a financial turnaround wey don faster and steeper than most analysts expect. More telling than di profit ranking na di return on equity. Dat number matter because di bank still mid-recapitalisation. Producing best-in-class ROE while diluting equity to meet regulatory minimum no be something di market don price in.
Di underlying driver of di ROE na aggressive loan recovery programme. Under CEO Olusegun Alebiosu, former Chief Risk Officer wey dem appoint specifically for dis phase of di bank rebuild, loan recoveries reach N19 billion for di first quarter, jump of 1,570% from N1 billion for same period of 2025. Di bank write off N826 billion for legacy bad loans late 2025, decision wey wipe out dat year profit line but scrub decades of accumulated bad debt from balance sheet for single move.
Di Q1 2026 numbers na di first clean report after dat surgery, and dem suggest di operation work. Di group reach dis position through multi-pronged capital strategy. Rights issue earlier for di recapitalisation cycle follow by N45 billion private placement wey dem complete for March 2026. Di group also divest im merchant banking subsidiary FBNQuest, removing capital-intensive non-core business from di structure and freeing up resources wey di bank fit redirect into im core lending business.
Di N253 billion wey dem now propose dey intended to close di remaining gap to di N1 trillion target. Wale Oyedeji serve as Group Managing Director of FirstHoldCo, with Alebiosu running di First Bank subsidiary. Di two-layer structure, with holding company above di bank, give di group flexibility to raise capital at di holding company level and deploy am across subsidiaries as needed. Dat structure also make international capital market access more straightforward, and di AGM notice explicitly flag both Nigerian and international markets as potential venues.
Di competitive context give di raise additional weight. If FirstHoldCo reach N1 trillion for paid-up capital and Otedola advocacy persuade CBN to raise di mandatory minimum, di FUGAZ peers go face new race to di top. Access Holdings, GTCO, Zenith and UBA all dey manage dia own recapitalisation timelines. FirstHoldCo wey arrive at N1 trillion first go reset wetin di market expect from tier-1 Nigerian bank, and no be only for paper.
Di N1 trillion target na commercial argument as much as regulatory one: bigger balance sheet mean bigger deal tickets, more syndicated lending capacity and stronger hand for di competition for multinational and sovereign clients. Di AGM on May 29 na di next formal step. Shareholders don show appetite throughout dis recapitalisation cycle, and di Q1 results give dem concrete justification to say yes.
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