CBN Denies Razaq Okoya's Bid for Polaris Bank

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has publicly refuted claims regarding billionaire businessman Razaq Okoya's intention to purchase Polaris Bank. These claims emerged from a viral post suggesting that Okoya had made a bid for the bank following its failure to meet CBN's recapitalization requirements.

The CBN clarified that there is no truth to these claims and emphasized that the ongoing recapitalization exercise is part of a broader reform initiative introduced in March 2024. This initiative provides banks with a two-year window, until March 31, 2026, to meet new minimum capital requirements, which are set at 500 billion naira for national commercial banks, 200 billion naira for regional commercial banks, and 50 billion naira for tier 2 banks.

The CBN confirmed that as of April 2026, 33 banks successfully met the revised capital thresholds, raising a total of 4.65 trillion naira to support economic growth and enhance the financial system's resilience against shocks.