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Access Holdings to Raise N40 billion to Cure Regulatory Deficiency
By ETIM ETIM
Less than a year after meeting the N500 billion minimum capital requirement, Access Holdings, the parent company of Access bank Plc, is raising additional N40 billion through private placement to meet a different regulatory requirement. The new requirement was announced by the CBN only two weeks ago. In a Circular issued on November 9, the CBN mandated that the paid-up capital of all holding companies must be equal to, or greater than the total paid-up capital of their subsidiaries. Access HoldCo has a N594 billion paid-up capital, while its subsidiaries have cumulative paid-up capital of N613 billion, a differential of only N19 billion.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe CBN did not give a deadline for the latest requirement, and it’s not clear how many of the few holding companies in the industry are affected. But as it is in its tradition, Access Holdings is taking steps to be the first to meet the requirement. This explains the choice of Private Placement which is clearly the fastest way to get it done. Said a well-placed industry analyst: ‘’Although the Circular did not carry any sense of urgency or deadline, there would be no way the CBN would approve payment of dividends for any company without them curing that deficiency’’.
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Access HoldCo’s shareholders will meet virtually in an Extraordinary General Meeting at 10am on December 18, 2025 to pass seven Special Resolutions that would authorize the company to raise the additional capital. The new ordinary shares created in connection with the Private Placement would be sold at N20.25 per share, a little below its market price of N21 at NGX. So, how would Access HoldCo deploy the new capital? ‘’Capital always helps any financial institution. It is the institution required to make more investments and take risks required to support the economy’’, says an insider.
Last December, Access Holdings became the first financial institution to meet the N500 billion new minimum capital after successfully raising N351 billion from the capital market. In a statement then, Company Secretary Sunday Ekwochi said the success of the capital mobilization exercise had positioned the company’s flagship subsidiary, Access Bank, to meet the CBN’s threshold well ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline.
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