The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has intensified regulatory oversight on commercial banks’ asset quality ordering stricter stress tests and comprehensive reviews of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs).
Major banks are facing delays in publishing their first-half financial statements as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) subjects bank assets and earnings quality to heightened scrutiny and stricter approval protocols.
Five tier-1 bank—GTCO, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, UBA and Stanbic IBTC which collectively dominate over two-thirds of the market are coming under heightened audit scrutiny for their financial reports.
In separate statement, the five tier-1 banks disclosed they will miss the weekend deadline for publishing their audited H1 2026 results, attributing the delay to pending CBN approval of their financial statements.
Even banks that have finalized and submitted their statements are stuck waiting for the regulator’s green light, as banks are strictly prohibited from publishing audited reports without explicit CBN clearance.
GTCO finalised its half-year audited report on July 28 but requested an extension from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) until September 30, 2026, to publish the statements while awaiting Central Bank clearance.
Similarly, Zenith Bank which secured board approval for its H1 report on July 29 pushed its publication date to October 9 or earlier, while Access Holdings gained an extension through September 30. UBA noted that its release remains entirely dependent on CBN authorization.
An industry insider noted that the delay stems from the apex bank’s post-recapitalization compliance framework, designed to rigorously test bank assets and verify earnings quality following the conclusion of the capital-raising exercise.
The central bank is taking proactive steps to ensure sustainable bank earnings and returns, applying extra scrutiny to these major lenders all of which traditionally declare interim dividends alongside their half-year results.
Given their status as systemically important banks (SIBs) and their history of declaring interim dividends, the extra regulatory oversight ensures that any capital distributions are backed by genuinely sustainable earnings rather than temporary accounting gains.
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The source also noted that this marks the first time these institutions are filing audited financial statements following the completion of the banking recapitalization exercise.
Under Nigerian Exchange (NGX) post-listing rules, these five tier-1 lenders must file their audited financial statements for the half-year ended June 30, 2026 within a 60-day window. That regulatory timeline sets the official submission deadline for Saturday, August 29.
Confronted with delayed CBN approvals, the affected banks approached the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) to request filing waivers and deadline extensions, maintaining that primary regulatory clearance remains a mandatory prerequisite before publishing their half-year results.
