First HoldCo Shareholders approve N253bn Capital Raise to hit N1tn Capital Base

Shareholders of First HoldCo Plc have approved plans to raise up to N253.099 billion as the financial services group intensifies efforts to strengthen its capital base and position itself among the strongest banking institutions in Nigeria.

The approval was granted at the company’s 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually on Friday, paving the way for First HoldCo to achieve a paid-up capital of N1 trillion, comprising share capital and share premium.

The move will place the parent company of FirstBank of Nigeria significantly above the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N500 billion minimum capital requirement for banks with international authorisation.

The capital raising initiative forms part of the group’s broader strategy to reinforce its balance sheet, deepen financial resilience and create a stronger platform for future growth amid ongoing reforms in the banking sector.

Speaking at the AGM, Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, said the proposed capital raise would be executed subject to regulatory approvals and could be implemented through a combination of capital market instruments.

“That the company be and is hereby authorised to undertake a capital raise of up to N253.099 billion to achieve N1 trillion paid-up capital comprising share capital and share premium,” Otedola told shareholders.

According to him, the transaction could be undertaken through public offerings, private placements, rights issues, bonus issues, scrip dividends or other equity instruments in both the Nigerian and international capital markets.

He added that pricing would be determined through a book-building process or other valuation methods approved by regulators.

Otedola further disclosed that the board had been authorised to take all necessary steps to secure the listing and admission of any securities issued under the capital raise programme on the Nigerian Exchange Limited or other securities markets.

Nairametrics reports that the latest capital raising plan comes shortly after FirstBank, the group’s flagship banking subsidiary, successfully met the CBN’s N500 billion minimum capital requirement, a milestone widely regarded as a significant achievement in the ongoing banking sector recapitalisation exercise.

As part of these efforts, First HoldCo recently completed a N45 billion private placement and has also pursued strategic restructuring measures, including the divestment of its merchant banking subsidiary, FBNQuest, to strengthen its capital position.

The approved capital raise comes against the backdrop of improving financial performance by the group.

Despite recording a substantial impairment charge of N826.3 billion in its 2025 financial year as part of a balance-sheet clean-up exercise, First HoldCo remained profitable, posting a profit before tax of N235 billion.

The group’s fortunes strengthened considerably in the first quarter of 2026, with profit before tax surging by 72.2 per cent to N321.1 billion, signalling a strong rebound in earnings and reinforcing investor confidence in its long-term growth strategy.