Shareholders of First HoldCo Plc have approved a capital raise of up to N253.099 billion as the group intensifies efforts to achieve a N1 trillion paid-up capital base.
The resolution was passed during the company’s 14th Annual General Meeting held virtually on Friday, May 29, 2026.
The approved fundraising forms part of the group’s broader balance sheet strengthening strategy and follows an earlier proposal contained in its AGM notice.
The N1 trillion paid-up capital target, which includes share capital and share premium, is twice the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N500 billion minimum capital requirement for banks with international authorisation.
Speaking at the AGM, Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, said the capital raise would be subject to regulatory approvals and could be executed through multiple 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 stated.
He explained that the transaction could be implemented through public offers, private placements, rights issues, bonus issues, scrip dividends, or other equity instruments across Nigerian and international capital markets.
According to him, the pricing structure would be determined through a book-building process or other valuation methods, subject to approval from regulators.
Otedola also disclosed that the board had been authorised to take all necessary steps to secure the listing and trading admission of any securities issued under the transaction on the Nigerian Exchange Limited or other recognised securities markets.
The capital mobilisation comes shortly after FirstBank of Nigeria, the group’s banking subsidiary, met the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N500 billion minimum capital requirement for international banking operations.
The new capital raise is expected to further strengthen the group’s financial position and improve its competitiveness among Nigeria’s leading banking institutions.
First HoldCo has already adopted a multi-layered capital strategy that includes rights issues, private placements, and asset divestments.
The group recently completed a N45 billion private placement in March 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen its equity base.
It has also advanced plans to divest its merchant banking subsidiary, FBNQuest, under its broader capital optimisation programme.
The latest fundraising initiative follows the release of the group’s audited 2025 financial results, which reflected the impact of a major balance sheet clean-up exercise.
First HoldCo recorded an impairment charge of N826.3 billion in 2025, significantly affecting profitability during the financial year.
Profit before tax stood at N235.0 billion, while income tax expenses of N87.7 billion reduced net profit to N147.3 billion.
Despite the pressure on earnings in 2025, the group posted a strong recovery in the first quarter of 2026.
First HoldCo reported a profit before tax of N321.1 billion in Q1 2026, representing a 72.2 per cent year-on-year increase from N186.48 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The strong first-quarter performance suggests that the group’s core earnings momentum remains solid following the one-off provisioning and legacy debt clean-up undertaken in 2025.
