FCMB Group Plc has launched a ₦160 billion public share sale to strengthen its banking subsidiary and meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new ₦500 billion minimum capital requirement for international banks.
The offering, which consists of 16 billion shares priced at ₦10 each, will run until November 6, 2025. According to the company, the proceeds will be used to recapitalise First City Monument Bank Limited and secure the lender’s international licence.
This fundraising follows a ₦147.5 billion share sale in 2024, which was the first in 16 years. That exercise was oversubscribed by 33 percent, attracting 42,800 investors, of which 92 percent participated through digital platforms. Analysts say the positive momentum is expected to carry into this second phase of FCMB’s three-stage recapitalisation plan.
FCMB has recorded strong financial performance in recent years. Between 2022 and 2025, group profit before tax rose at a compound annual growth rate of 72 percent. Its non-bank subsidiaries also posted a 61 percent CAGR, led by Credit Direct Finance Company Limited, Nigeria’s largest non-bank lender, and FCMB Capital Markets, which topped the FMDQ fixed income league table for bond listings and commercial papers in the first half of 2025.
In addition, FCMB Group issued a ₦20.68 billion bond as part of efforts to strengthen its capital structure. The company highlighted that groupwide digital initiatives remain central to growth, with digital revenues expanding by over 58 percent annually since 2022, now contributing 13.9 percent of gross earnings. As of June 2025, digital lending represented 9 percent of the loan book.
“At a 2025 estimated price-to-book ratio below 0.6x, FCMB stock trades at what analysts describe as a rare mix of deep value and high growth,” the group stated.
Upon completion of this share sale, FCMB plans to conclude the sale of minority stakes in two subsidiaries, with the proceeds also directed into the bank to lift its qualifying core capital above ₦500 billion and complete the recapitalisation programme.
