Ecobank Nigeria Limited has repaid 50 per cent of its Eurobond ahead of the scheduled maturity in February 2026.

In a statement on Saturday, the bank said the repayment demonstrated strong liquidity and financial resilience.

The lender also confirmed the success of its ongoing tender and exit consent solicitation with respect to its $300m 7.125 per cent Senior Notes due 2026. As of July 11, 2025, the bond traded near par at $99.00, reflecting strong investor confidence in the bank’s ability to repay at maturity.

Ecobank Nigeria noted that the early repayment was necessitated by an improved liquidity position, backed by collections from loan repayments and early redemption of its promissory notes from its parent.

“The bank has firm liquidity plans in place to ensure the remaining 50 per cent of the Eurobond is repaid in full at maturity. Additionally, the bank used the opportunity to require bondholders’ consent to remove the capital adequacy ratio from its Eurobond covenant,” the lender said in the statement.

In 2024, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio declined to 7.65 per cent, below the 10 per cent regulatory requirement for a national bank. This drop was driven by the depreciation of the naira, which impacted its loan portfolio with significant foreign currency exposure. However, the bank has come up with measures aimed at restoring the CAR to its regulatory limit.

“Notably, Ecobank Nigeria is undergoing a transformation aimed at boosting revenue, fast-tracking impairment provisions to support loan write-offs, strengthening asset quality, and aggressively cutting operating expenses through improved efficiency.

“Preliminary H1 2025 results show a 30 per cent revenue growth, rising to N113.7bn from N87.6bn in H1 2024. Gross impairment charges surged by over 200 per cent in H1 2025, reaching N32.8bn compared to N10.7bn in H1 2024, due to improved revenue. Unaudited profit before tax for H1 2025 rose by 90 per cent to N13.5bn, up from N7.1bn in H1 2024, and the liquidity ratio has remained sufficiently above the required 30 per cent,” the statement added.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria recently mandated banks to submit a Capital Restoration Plan to it as well as quarterly disclosures on key performance and compliance metrics.

Ecobank Nigeria also disclosed that there has been a more aggressive push in loan collections and recoveries. Also, the improvement in oil production, driven largely by the current administration’s initiatives, has significantly strengthened the bank’s recovery prospects, particularly given its large exposure to oil and gas loans, and has improved obligors’ ability to meet restructuring terms.

Consequently, in 2025, the bank recovered over N9bn from a long-standing delinquent obligor. Additionally, Stage 2 loans totalling over N170bn have been successfully reclassified to Stage 1, reflecting consistent performance over the past 12 months.

The parent company, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, remains committed to supporting the bank. The parent had injected over $10m in 2024 to enable the bank to meet the CBN’s requirement of N200bn for a national bank. However, additional capital injections, alongside measures like loan portfolio reduction, accelerated impairment provisioning, and improved profitability, are underway to restore the bank’s capital adequacy ratio to regulatory levels.

Ecobank said that it remains committed to complying with the CBN’s forbearance directive and will not issue dividends or management bonuses, ensuring that retained earnings are preserved to strengthen its capital base.