There are several banks in Nigeria today – that are all under the regulation of the Government-owned Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This article provides an elaborate list of all the banks in Nigeria along with their operational licenses.
Many years back there were more than thrice the number of banks present in Nigeria right now. However, in the mid-parts of 2004, the Nigerian Government decided to set operational standards for all the different categories of banks – which so many of them were unable to meet up with.
The 25 billion naira minimum capital base set for most commercial banks was unachievable – and as a result, reacquisition or merging were the two possible options.
But first…
How many banks are in Nigeria now?
There are currently 26 banks in Nigeria with Government licenses.
Those 26 banks in Nigeria are grouped into commercial, non-interest, and merchant banks. Commercial banks are further subdivided into 3 – namely commercial banks with regional authorization, commercial banks with international authorization, and commercial banks with national authorization.
Page Contents
List of commercial banks with International Authorization in Nigeria:
Access Bank Plc
Access Bank plc is a multinational commercial bank owned by Access Bank Group. It acquired a license from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1989 and has been featured in the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 1998.
Access Bank announced the conclusion of its acquisition of the former Intercontinental Bank in 2012 and is currently considered to be among the 4 largest banks in Nigeria with over 5.7 million customers, 309 branches within Nigeria alone. Access Bank also acquired Diamond Bank in December 2018, a move that further increased its already huge customer base.
Headquarters: 999c, Danmole Street, Off Idejo Street, Off Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Website: www.accessbankplc.com
Fidelity Bank Plc
Fidelity Bank is a commercial bank in Nigeria. It is licensed with international authorization by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the central bank and national banking regulator. Its International Banking License was obtained in the year 2011. And since then has continued to wax in strength and stability.
Fidelity is currently ranked among Nigeria’s most capitalized banks, with tier-one capital of nearly USD1 billion (One Billion US Dollars).
Headquarters: 21, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Website: www.fidelitybank.ng
First City Monument Bank Plc
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd, popularly referred to as FCMB, is a full-service banking group with International licensing in Nigeria. Its assets were valued at US$$3.65 billion (₦593.3 billion) as of December 2011, with shareholders’ equity of approximately US$772.2 million (NGN:117.4 billion).
Head office: Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.fcmb.com
First Bank of Nigeria Limited
First Bank of Nigeria, popularly referred to as FirstBank, is a Nigerian bank with International licensing. It had assets totaling ₦3.9 trillion ($12.2B according to 2017 exchange rates), as of December 2015.
FirstBank was named “The Best Bank Brand in Nigeria” for five years in a row – from 2011 to 2015.
Headquarters: Samuel Asabia House, 35 Marina, Lagos.
Official website: www.firstbanknigeria.com
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc
Guaranty Trust Bank plc popularly referred to as GTBank or GTB is a Nigerian-based multinational financial institution that offers Online/Internet Banking, Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, Asset Management services, and several other services. It currently employs over 10,000 workers across the several its several countries of operation in Africa.
Headquarters: 635, Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.gtbank.com
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is a commercial bank in Nigeria with international licensing. Its asset base was estimated at about ₦1,381 billion (US$4.1billion), with shareholders’ equity estimated at ₦286 billion (US$851 million).
Headquarters: Stallion Plaza, 36 Marina, Lagos.
Official website: www.unionbankng.com
United Bank for Africa Plc
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is a leading pan-African financial services group with headquarters located in Nigeria. It was founded in 1945 and is currently operational in over 20 African countries and has offices in 3 global locations: London, Paris and New York.
Headquarters: 57 Marina, Lagos.
Official website: www.ubagroup.com
Zenith Bank Plc
Zenith Bank is a multinational financial services provider founded in May 1990. Its headquarters is located in Nigeria and is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the central bank and national banking regulator.
Headquarters: Plot 84, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Website: www.zenithbank.com
List of commercial banks with National Authorization in Nigeria
Citi Bank Nigeria Limited
Citibank, founded in 1812, is the consumer division of financial services multinational organization, Citigroup. Citibank provides services in areas including credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, commercial loans, and lines of credit. It currently has National authorization licensing in Nigeria.
CitiBank Nigeria head office: 27, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.citi.com
Ecobank Nigeria Plc
Ecobank Nigeria Plc, widely recognized as Ecobank Nigeria, is a commercial bank in Nigeria founded in 1986. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which assumes the role of the national banking regulator.
Headquarters: 21, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.ecobank.com
Heritage Banking Company Limited
Heritage Bank Plc. (HB PLC), is popularly referred to as Heritage Bank, is one of the commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with National Authorization. HB PLC had assets totaling a value of over US$1.7 billion (₦483.4 billion) as of December 2015.
Head office: 292b, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: http://www.hbng.com/
Keystone Bank Limited
Keystone Bank Limited is one of the commercial banks licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which serves as the national banking regulator. As of December 2012, Keystone’s total assets were valued at US$1.916 billion (₦307.5 billion)
Head office: Keystone House, 1, Keystone Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.keystonebankng.com
Polaris Bank Limited (Formerly Skye Bank Plc)
Polaris Bank is a commercial financial institution based in Nigeria. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country’s banking regulator. It was previously called Skye Bank until 2018 when its license was revoked by CBN, and as a result, had to undergo a re-branding and recapitalization process.
Head office: 3 Akin Adesola Street Victoria Island, Lagos, Lagos State
Official website: www.polarisbanklimited.com
Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc
Stanbic IBTC Holdings, or simply Stanbic IBTC, is a financial service holding company in Nigeria with subsidiaries in banking, stock brokerage, investment advisory, pension, among others. Stanbic IBTC Holdings is in itself in a subsidiary of the Standard Bank Group, a financial services giant based in South Africa. Stanbic IBTC currently has a National authorization license from CBN to operate as a financial institution in Nigeria.
Stanbic IBTC head office in Nigeria: IBTC Place, Walter Carrington Crescent, P.O. Box 71707, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.stanbicibtc.com
Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered is a multinational financial institution. It currently operates as a commercial bank in Nigeria and has national authorization licensing issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Head office: 142, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Official website: www.sc.com/ng/
Sterling Bank Plc
Sterling Bank Plc is a fully functional national commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. As of December 2016, Sterling had its total assets valued at over ₦834 billion, with shareholders’ equity valued at ₦85.6 billion.
Head office: Sterling Towers, 20 Marina, Lagos.
Website: www.sterlingbankng.com/
Unity Bank Plc
Unity Bank is another fully functional national commercial bank in Nigeria, with CBN licensing. As of 2013, its total assets had an estimated value in excess of US$2.45 billion (₦396 billion), with shareholders’ equity estimated to be around US$322 million (₦51.5 billion).
Headquarters: Plot 785, Herbert Macaulay Way, Central Business District, Abuja.
Website: www.unitybankng.com/
Wema Bank Plc
Wema Bank Plc is a fully licensed national commercial bank in Nigeria, as issued by the CBN. As of 2015, it had a capital base of over N43.8billion. It currently operates in over 150 branches nationwide and is known to embrace digital innovations and trends.
Headquarters: Wema Towers, 54 Marina, Lagos Island, Lagos.
Website: www.wemabank.com/
List of commercial banks with Regional Authorization in Nigeria
SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited
SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited (STBNL) is a Nigerian financial services provider currently licensed as a commercial bank with regional authorization – by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which plays the role of the national banking regulator. Its regional banking license was granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria in November 2015, making it the first commercial bank to receive such a license since 2001.
As of 2017, SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited had assets totaling over ₦26.56 billion (approximately US$74.24 million), with shareholders’ equity of over ₦10.61 billion (approximately US$29.7 million).
Headquarters: 1, Oladele Olashore Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Website: www.suntrustng.com
Providus Bank Limited
ProvidusBank is a financial institution that offers customized business solutions and advanced products that meet business and personal needs in several areas. It currently has a commercial banking license with regional authorization, as issued by CBN.
Headquarters: Plot 54, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Website: www.providusbank.com
List of non-interest banks in Nigeria
Jaiz Bank Plc
Jaiz Bank Plc, is the first and only operational non-interest bank in Nigeria, with CBN licensing. It operates under Islamic banking principles. As of December 2012, Jaiz had its total assets valued at US$88.8 million (₦14.1 billion), with shareholders’ equity estimated to be about US$63.6 million (₦10.1 billion).
Headquarters: Kano House, Plot 73, Ralph Shodeinde Street, Central Business District, Abuja.
Website: jaizbankplc.com/
List of merchant banks in Nigeria
Coronation Merchant Bank
Coronation Merchant Bank is a Nigeria-based investment bank that provides innovative, long-term financial solutions to corporations, state governments and other financial services organizations. It offers product and service solutions in areas including corporate banking, investment banking, wealth management, asset and fund management, global markets, securities trading, and trust services.
Coronation Merchant Bank was named the Best Investment Bank in Nigeria at the 2018 World Finance Investment Banking Awards
Head office: St. Nicholas House, 6th Floor, 28A, Catholic Mission Street, P.M.B 12511, Marina, Lagos.
Website: www.coronationmb.com
FBNQuest Merchant Bank
FBNQuest is one of the few licensed merchant banks in Nigeria. It is the unified brand name for the Merchant Banking and Asset Management businesses of FBN Holdings Plc, one of the strongest and most dependable financial service groups in countries within sub-Saharan Africa.
Headquarters: 10, Keffi Street, Off South West, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi 101233, Lagos
Website: fbnquest.com
FSDH Merchant Bank
FSDH has been in existent for a long time and was among the very first merchant banks to be awarded a license in Nigeria. It was founded in 1992 and became licensed by the CBN in October 2012.
Head office: 1/5 Odunlami St, Lagos Island, Lagos.
Website: www.fsdhgroup.com
Rand Merchant Bank
RMB is a South African-based financial institution that meets needs in areas involving investment banking, fund management, private wealth management, and advisory services.
It is was founded in 1998, and currently operates in several African countries. It recently acquired merchant licensing to operating fully in Nigeria, which is part of its efforts to increase its presence across other African countries.
RMD Head office in Nigeria: 3rd Floor East Tower, Wings Office Complex, Victoria Island, Lagos
Website: www.rmb.com.ng
Nova Merchant Bank
Nova is one of the recently licensed Merchant Banks in Nigeria with a focus on wholesale and investment banking. It covers financial services in key areas including Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, among others.
Head office: 23 Kofo Abayomi St, Victoria Island, Lagos
Website: www.novamlb.com