DataPro, a Nigerian technology-driven rating agency, has advised banks to begin their portfolio analysis and prepare baseline data as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moves towards a risk-based capital requirement policy.

Member of the firm’s rating team and an enterprise risk management (ERM) expert, Idris Adeleke, issued the advisory on behalf of DataPro during a recent webinar on the CBN’s stress testing directive.

The CBN, on March 6, 2026, had directed Banks to stress test, an exercise aimed at detecting weaknesses stemming from credit risk exposures of financial institutions.

The instruction is expected to take effect from April 1.

In his presentation, Adeleke said the directive means the CBN is initiating a risk-based capital requirement in its drive to make the financial sector more resilient to power the $1 trillion economy target of President Bola Tinubu.

To comply with the directive, he advised Banks to act quickly, saying a detailed portfolio analysis should be done immediately or “when the result or the numbers of the 31st of March come out”.

“Ensure collaboration across risk, finance and compliance teams to finalise the stress test results on time. Board-approved stress testing reports must be submitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria by April 30, 2026, close of business,” he stated.

DataPro said the new CBN mandate introduces severe stress assumptions that will directly impact the capital adequacy ratio (CAR), including a ‘staged migration’, which requires Banks to assume a severe deterioration in asset quality across all credit exposures.

Other assumptions are sectoral sensitivity, which mandates banks to apply an additional 10 per cent provisioning floor to deteriorated sectors and insider credits, which directs banks to treat all director- and insider-related exposures as fully in default.

The virtual event featured a step-by-step guide on executing the mandated staged migration, strategies to enable banks to independently validate shortfall calculations to meet the CBN’s 50 per cent to 100 per cent threshold requirements.

The engagement also provided an overview of reference models and reporting templates to ensure seamless compliance by the April 30 deadline.