Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has injected ₦365.85 billion ($236 million) into its flagship subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (GTBank), in a strategic move to comply with Nigeria’s updated capital requirements for lenders with international authorisation.
The transaction, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Friday, was executed through the issuance of nearly seven billion ordinary shares of GTBank to GTCO via a rights issue.
The capital boost comes as Nigerian banks race to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive, which requires commercial lenders to recapitalise by March 2026 to ensure resilience against economic shocks. GTCO’s injection not only safeguards GTBank’s international licence but also positions the bank to expand its lending portfolio, enhance its branch network, and strengthen its technology infrastructure.
Following the capital raise, GTBank’s share capital has increased from ₦138.2 billion to ₦504 billion, comfortably exceeding the CBN’s minimum threshold of ₦500 billion for internationally licensed banks. This places GTBank alongside other tier-1 lenders, including Access Bank and Zenith Bank, that have met the new regulatory standard.
“The additional equity capital will be deployed by GTBank primarily for branch network expansion and asset growth—including loans, advances, and investment securities—fortification of information technology infrastructure, and to leverage emerging opportunities in Nigeria and our other operating markets,” GTCO said in the filing.
GTCO’s equity-raising programme, first approved at its 2024 annual general meeting, was executed in two phases with regulatory clearance, and the holding company continues to retain 100% ownership of GTBank following the allotment.
The CBN’s recapitalisation push, first announced in March 2024, aims to strengthen the resilience of Nigeria’s banking sector after currency devaluation and inflationary pressures eroded capital buffers. Banks unable to meet the new requirements face potential mergers or licence revocation. By July 2025, at least eight lenders had fully complied, according to CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, while smaller banks explore consolidation strategies to survive.
For GTCO, the move reinforces the financial strength of one of Nigeria’s most profitable banks, whose operations span Ghana, Kenya, and the United Kingdom. The holding company is betting that a stronger capital base will enable GTBank to pursue larger lending opportunities and expand its digital banking footprint across its pan-African and international markets.
