Segun Agbaje Shares Insights on Bank Forbearance Loans and CBN’s Timing

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Segun Agbaje, said the exit of regulatory forbearance loans should not have been a surprise to Nigerian banks since they all received letters announcing it would end in 2023.

Agbaje made this statement on Thursday, July 10, 2025, during an event after GTCO’s shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

He stressed that regulators gave banks enough time to resolve the forbearance issue, so the recent announcement from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should not have been unexpected.

What the GTCO Group CEO is saying

Agbaje said, “I’m going to answer the question a bit differently if you don’t mind. First of all, I don’t think the end of forbearance should surprise banks. We all had letters saying it would end in 2023. So we should have exited by the end of 2024.

“Whatever the regulators decided should not surprise us. We were given more than enough time to comply. 

That’s my view on forbearance.”

On banks’ complaints about the high percentage of cash they keep with the CBN, he said, “I think the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) reflects a liquidity overhang inherited by this government and this central bank. 

They need a careful way to reduce that liquidity.

“My belief is that as the central bank sees liquidity normalize, they will lower the CRR over time. But it’s unrealistic to expect them to release CRR now, while dealing with a large inherited liquidity overhang.”

Challenging regulatory requirements

Agbaje said meeting the governance and regulatory demands of the London Stock Exchange, including those of the FCA, was very tough. 

He also encouraged Nigerians to use the media more responsibly.

He said, “It’s very challenging. It’s not just the exchange, you also have to meet the FCA.

“That’s the financial regulator here. Honestly, what you learn is that you have to play by the rules. You’ll be surprised how much comes up.

“The other takeaway, which I hope we understand in Nigeria, is to use the media more responsibly. When you do due diligence on a company, everything said about that company or its people shows up. You have to respond to all of it.

“People don’t always see that. So you go through a lot of back and forth. You have to debunk, confirm, and explain.”

What you should know

On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, GTCO reached a big milestone by listing its Ordinary Shares in the Equity Shares (International Commercial Companies Secondary Listing) category of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Official List and trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market.

This makes GTCO Plc the first financial services company in West Africa to list its Ordinary Shares on both the Nigerian and London stock exchanges, subject to certain criteria.

The listing follows the successful pricing of its fully marketed offering on the London Stock Exchange, raising $105 million by selling 2.29 billion new ordinary shares. The offering attracted strong support from long-term institutional investors.

The company’s shares now trade on the LSE main market under the ticker “GTHC.” GTCO plans to change this ticker to “GTCO” after canceling its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) listing, reflecting its current structure and brand