Nigeria’s Central Bank has granted approval for a proposed merger between Unity Bank Plc and Providus Bank, confirming a report on Tuesday morning by a top Nigerian publication. Unity Bank, which reported N38 billion in losses for the first half of 2023, has been the subject of speculation after the Central Bank revoked Heritage Bank’s licence.

In June 2023, TechCabal reported that the auditing firm KPMG had questioned Unity Bank’s ability to stay afloat. “As at same date, the bank’s total liabilities exceeded its total assets by ₦274.9billion and the bank did not meet the required minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 10% and the minimum capital requirement of ₦25.00 billion for a national bank as required by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” KPMG said in a note.

Those struggles mean the CBN will provide “financial accommodation for a merger between Unity Bank and Providus.”

“The merger is contingent upon the financial support from the CBN. The fund will be instrumental in addressing Unity Bank’s total obligation to the Central Bank and other stakeholders,” the CBN said in a statement.

The regulator also insisted that no Nigerian bank “currently faces a precarious situation comparable to that of Heritage Bank which was recently liquidated.”