UBA, Access, First HoldCo Face Fresh Dividend Test as CBN Restrictions Linger

Three of Nigeria’s largest banking groups, United Bank for Africa, Access Holdings and First HoldCo, face a fresh test of their ability to resume dividend payments in 2026 after regulatory restrictions and higher loan-loss provisions blocked final payouts for 2025. The outlook is improving, but a return to regular dividends is not yet assured.

UBA’s management expects the bank to pay dividends this year. Access Holdings says the regulatory constraint that prevented its payout has been resolved. First HoldCo has approved a policy to distribute at least 60 percent of annual profit to shareholders, subject to regulatory approval. None of these developments confirms that the Central Bank of Nigeria has cleared the three banks to resume payments.

Why the CBN restriction matters

The distinction matters after the CBN’s June 2025 directive required banks with unresolved loan-forbearance exposures to suspend dividends, defer executive bonuses and halt new offshore investments until they made adequate provisions and complied with single-obligor limits. The directive followed years of pandemic-era relief that allowed banks to restructure troubled loans without immediately classifying them as impaired. When the concessions expired, lenders faced pressure to recognise losses that had built over several years.

For shareholders, the clean-up created a gap between profitability and dividend payments. Five Nigerian banks paid a combined N917.9 billion in final dividends for the 2025 financial year in 2026. UBA, Access Holdings and First HoldCo paid none, despite remaining profitable. UBA and Access Holdings have yet to release their half-year accounts. UBA’s board approved its audited H1 accounts in August, but publication remained subject to CBN approval. Access Holdings secured additional time from the Nigerian Exchange and disclosed on October 2 that it was still awaiting the requisite regulatory clearance.

UBA: profit pressure

UBA faces the most immediate earnings challenge among the three lenders. Its pre-tax profit fell 47.3 percent to N423.4 billion in 2025 after recognising a N331 billion loan-loss provision and a N278 billion fair-value loss on derivatives. It proposed no final dividend for the year, leaving shareholders with a total dividend of N0.25 per share, down from N5.00 in 2024. The reduction represented a 95 percent decline from the previous year’s payout, which had exceeded N170 billion.

UBA management attributed the restriction to provisions that pushed its non-performing loan ratio above the threshold required for dividend payments. Management has indicated it expects to pay dividends in 2026, but the absence of confirmed regulatory clearance means the timing remains uncertain.

Access and First HoldCo

Access Holdings appears to have a more favourable earnings backdrop. Its pre-tax profit rose 16.2 percent to N1.01 trillion in 2025, the first year it crossed the N1 trillion threshold. Impairment charges increased 209 percent to N287.3 billion. Access said it recommended dividends at both half-year and full-year stages but did not obtain CBN approval because of specific regulatory requirements. It pointed to Section 7.1 of the CBN’s guidelines for financial holding companies, saying a private placement had resolved the constraint. Access also skipped an interim dividend in 2025 for the first time in a decade.

First HoldCo has made the clearest commitment to a future distribution. Its pre-tax profit fell 70.6 percent to N234.3 billion in 2025, while chairman Femi Otedola disclosed impairment charges of N748 billion. The group had proposed a dividend of N1 per share, but shareholders received no final payout after the regulatory restrictions intervened. On July 28, First HoldCo approved a dividend policy targeting a distribution of at least 60 percent of annual profit.

The three banks remain profitable, but payout timing depends on CBN clearance and the strength of their loan-loss positions.