For its recently closed Rights Issue, Access Holdings Plc, the parent company of Access Bank Plc, has reveal gaining complete regulatory permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, confirmed this in a Wednesday press statement available to BrandSpur banking and finance news desk.
Comprising 17.7 billion regular shares at ₦19.75 each, the issue effectively raised ₦351 billion. Well before the March 2026 deadline, this landmark marked Access Bank Plc as the first Nigerian bank to surpass the CBN’s ₦500 billion minimum capital requirement for banks with foreign authorization.
Speaking on the successful offer, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings Company, remarked: “The Access brand has always resonated strongly with the local and international capital markets. Since 2004, Access Bank has raised billions of dollars in capital to meet successive CBN recapitalisation directives.
“We are pleased that this time we are the first to breast the tape; the success of the Rights Issue demonstrates the resilience of Nigeria’s capital market and reinforces our shareholder’s confidence in the present value and potential of our Company. We deeply acknowledge the invaluable and strong support of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission who both played crucial roles in ensuring the integrity and efficacy of our Rights Issue exercise.
“We are also grateful to our valued shareholders, whose loyalty to the Access brand and vision for over 22 years has been most inspiring and unwavering. As we enter into the new year, we are well-positioned to leverage our enhanced capital base to deliver sustainable value for our stakeholders,” he added.
With the successful capital raise, Access Bank’s share capital now stands at ₦600 billion—₦100 billion above the regulatory minimum—further confirming its rank as Nigeria’s biggest bank by assets. Offering 17.77 billion ordinary shares at ₦19.75 apiece between July 8 and August 23, 2024, Access Holdings recently finished its rights issue.
Shareholders who held shares as of June 7 were invited to buy one additional share for every two owned. With an astonishing 24,181 applications—amounting to 18.82 billion shares valued at around ₦371.77 billion—the firm reflected an oversubscription rate of 105.76%.
However, after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reviewed 24,101 applications for 18.79 billion shares valued ₦371.24 billion was authorized. This noteworthy success confirms Access Holdings’ leadership among Nigerian banking institutions.
