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In forceCapitalLast checked 13 November 2026

Capital adequacy ratio (CAR)

A regulatory return listed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria.

Sets out the capital instruments and capital buffers a bank's regulatory capital must meet under Basel III, and requires banks to calculate and report their capital adequacy ratios so the CBN can check they hold enough capital against credit, market and operational risk. Source

Official title: Returns of Capital Adequacy Position (Guidelines on Regulatory Capital)

The facts

Who files
All banks licensed under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), at both stand-alone (solo) and consolidated (group) level where a holding company or group structure applies. Source
How often
Monthly for the capital adequacy position on a stand-alone basis; quarterly for the capital adequacy position at the consolidated level, where applicable. The CBN may also require a bank to calculate and report its ratios for any other period or date. Source
Deadline
Not stated in the Guideline itself. The CBN's April 2014 letter to all banks on timelines for statutory returns through the FinA application sets the 5th day after month end for monthly, quarterly and semi-annual returns (the day before, if the 5th is a weekend or public holiday); the Guideline does not say whether this applies to the capital adequacy return. Source
Format
Excel, Other. Banks complete the CBN's prescribed Excel calculation template and submit an electronic copy of the return; the exact file format accepted by the FinA application itself is not stated on the pages read. Source
How it is filed
Filing routes recorded for the CBN: FinA (Financial Analysis application); e-FASS (Electronic Financial Analysis and Surveillance System); FIFX (Financial Institutions Foreign Exchange Reporting System). See how firms file with the CBN.
Status
In forceThis September 2021 Guideline is the current, Basel III based standard. A 2015 'Revised Guidance Notes on Basel II Implementation and the Reporting Template for Capital Adequacy Ratio' is still published on the regulator's site; the 2018 Capital Adequacy Ratio Calculation Template (the current downloadable workbook) uses Basel III capital tiers (CET1, Additional Tier 1, Tier 2) consistent with the 2021 Guideline, not the 2015 Basel II version. Source
Legal basis
Group
Capital

Templates (25)

The tables and forms inside the return. Plain name first, the CBN's code in brackets.

  • CAR Summary (C1)
  • Eligible Capital Components (C2)
  • Regulatory Adjustments (C3)
  • Minority Interest and Capital Instruments (C4)
  • Capital Instruments (C5)
  • Capital Instruments for Gradual Phase-out (C6)
  • Transitional Regulatory Adjustment (C7)
  • Countercyclical Buffer (C8)
  • Credit Risk Weighted Assets: Summary (CR1)
  • Credit Risk Weighted Assets: Individual Claims (CR2)
  • Credit Risk Weighted Assets: Standardised Exposures (CR3)
  • Credit Risk Weighted Assets: Public Sector Investments (CR4)
  • Credit Risk Weighted Assets: Exposures at Preferential Risk Weight (CR5)
  • Credit Risk Weighted Assets: Past Due Receivables (CR6)
  • Off Balance Sheet Exposures (CR7)
  • Market Risk: Summary (MR1)
Show all 25 templates
  • Specific and General Risk Capital (MR2)
  • Specific Risk Charge for Sukuk (MR3)
  • General Risk Charge for Sukuk (MR4)
  • Foreign Exchange Risk Charge (MR5)
  • Commodities Risk (Maturity Ladder or Simplified Approach) (MR6)
  • Inventory Risk (MR7)
  • Operational Risk: Basic Indicator Approach (OR1)
  • Operational Risk: Standardised Approach (OR2)
  • Operational Risk: Alternative Standardised Approach (OR3)

Counted from the sheet tabs of the published 2018 Capital Adequacy Ratio Calculation Template.xlsx. The workbook also has an 'Index' sheet, a 'Bank Details' sheet and two unused blank sheets, not counted here as schedules. Source

Validation rules

No published validation rules were found for this return. No published validation rules for this return were found on the Central Bank of Nigeria's pages read. Source

Public data

Published only added up across firms. The industry capital adequacy ratio is published twice a year in the Financial Stability Report (for example 14.42% at December 2025); the report does not name the capital adequacy return as its source, so the link is by subject only. Source

Where it is published (PDF tables)

  • Financial Stability Report

    Added up across firms · PDF

    Published twice a year (June and December editions). Gives industry-wide prudential indicators, including the capital adequacy ratio, a 'Liquidity Ratio (LR)' and the non-performing loans ratio, for the banking sector and selected sub-sectors. The report does not name which return each figure comes from; the returns listed here are matched by subject only. Source

Official documents (8)

The CBN's own files, with the size and SHA-256 fingerprint of each as downloaded on 13 November 2026, so anyone can tell whether a copy is the same version.

Sources

Every page and document this return's facts were read from.

Knowing exactly what is collected, in what format and under which rules is the first step to real-time supervision. Line4 builds SupTech software for financial regulators that runs checks like these as each return arrives.

Line4's own text, and the way Line4 has collected and arranged these records, are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Please credit: “Source: Line4 regulatory submissions library (CC BY 4.0), https://www.line4.ai”. The facts themselves belong to no one. The regulators' document titles, template names, quoted terms and documents belong to them and are not covered by this licence: see CBN's reuse terms. This describes what regulators publish. It is not legal or regulatory advice: always rely on the regulator's own text. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any regulator.

Source: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), https://www.cbn.gov.ng. Documents are linked on the regulator's own site, not hosted here. The plain-English summaries are Line4's own; the CBN does not endorse this library.

Last checked 13 November 2026.