Overview

This document is a circular from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dated June 10, 2026, announcing the exposure draft of revised Guidelines for Licensing and Regulating Financial Holding Companies (FHCs) in Nigeria. The original guidelines were issued in 2014 to mitigate risks from non-core banking activities. After several years of implementation, the CBN identified areas needing enhancement, including: (i) strengthening capital requirements to ensure FHCs provide financial strength to subsidiaries; (ii) regulating shared services to prevent abuse; (iii) establishing clear eligibility criteria for promoters; (iv) streamlining organizational structure to allow FHCs to directly hold equity in foreign subsidiaries instead of Nigerian banking subsidiaries; and (v) requiring FHCs to hold at least 51% equity in each subsidiary and be registered as persons with significant control. The draft is open for public comments via email until July 9, 2026. The document includes the formal guidelines, which cover definition and structure, eligibility criteria, permissible and non-permissible activities, licensing requirements (including approval-in-principle, final license, commencement, post-commencement, and non-transferability), and corporate governance.

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