FCMB Group Plc has promised its shareholders dividend payments in 2025 and the years ahead, despite new regulations from the Central Bank of Nigeria that affect banks with credit exposures under forbearance.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the company secretary, Funmi Adedibu, on Monday.
In a circular signed by its Director of Banking Supervision, Olubukola Akinwunmi, on Friday, the CBN directed banks operating under regulatory forbearance to suspend dividend payments, defer bonuses for executives, and halt investments in foreign subsidiaries or offshore ventures.
The CBN said the move, which was part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the resilience and stability of the Nigerian banking sector, has reviewed the capital positions and provisioning adequacy of banks currently operating under approved regulatory forbearance regimes, specifically with credit exposures and Single Obligor Limits.
According to the statement, FCMB Group said its Nigerian banking subsidiary contributed 46 per cent, with the rest coming from non-banking subsidiaries, and on that basis believed that it could sustain shareholder returns.
“Our Nigerian Banking Subsidiary contributed 46 per cent of the 2024 dividend paid to shareholders (the balance coming from other non-bank subsidiaries). Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Group expects sufficient buffers to maintain its dividend policy for 2025 and the immediate subsequent years,” the bank assured in a statement.
Shedding more light on its forbearance exposure, FCMB Group stated, “FCMB Group’s Nigerian Banking Subsidiary currently has loans under CBN forbearance (credit exposures to three entities and two obligors) amounting to N207.6bn as of 31 May 2025 (down from N538.8bn as of September 30th, 2024). These are currently classified as Stage 2 loans.
