Abbey Mortgage Bank Gets CBN Approval for Commercial Bank Conversion
By Aboki Forex —
Abbey Mortgage Bank has received regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to proceed with its planned conversion to a regional commercial bank. The mortgage lender announced this in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
Shareholders also approved a name change during an extra-ordinary general meeting held on Friday, 24 January 2025. The bank will now be known as Abbey Bank PLC, dropping the word 'Mortgage' from its official name.
Shares in the primary mortgage bank rose by 5.4 per cent to N7.8 per unit on the Lagos bourse at the close of trade on Wednesday.
The institution provides real estate construction finance and personal banking services. It follows the path of other financial institutions that have transitioned into full-fledged commercial banks. Nova Bank, which converted from a merchant bank in 2024, is one example.
Nigeria's new capital rules require regional commercial banks to have a minimum capital base of N50 billion. That is up from the previous N10 billion requirement for mortgage banks.
At its annual general meeting last Monday, Abbey Mortgage Bank obtained shareholders' approval to establish a debt issuance programme of N100 billion. It also secured consent to raise an additional N64.5 billion in equity capital, subject to regulatory approvals.
The mortgage lender's total assets stood at N222.4 billion as of March 2026. That is up from N165.8 billion as of December 2025, according to its latest earnings report.
Post-tax profit climbed to N715.3 million in the first quarter of the year from N340.5 million a year ago. Gross earnings went up by 85.6 per cent to N7 billion.
VFD Group, a proprietary investment company listed on the Nigerian Exchange, holds a 22.5 per cent stake in Abbey Mortgage Bank. That makes it the bank's largest shareholder.