Sycamore reacts as CBN revokes its microfinance bank’s licence two months after acquisition

Sycamore, a financial technology (fintech) company, says its operations remain fully active after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the licence of a microfinance bank it acquired in Kano state in May.

On Thursday, the fintech said the microfinance bank was acquired as part of its expansion into deposit-taking and payments services.

The company said it was still in the process of integrating the entity into its group and operational infrastructure when the licence was revoked following a CBN sector-wide compliance review.

“Sycamore confirms that a microfinance banking entity it had recently acquired in Kano state is among the 46 microfinance banks whose licences were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria on July 1, 2026,” the statement reads.

“Sycamore had acquired the entity as part of its planned expansion into deposit-taking and payments. The company was in the process of establishing its integration into its group and operational infrastructure for the entity when the licence was captured in the CBN’s sector-wide compliance review.”

The company said all customer funds and investments remain safe and fully accessible.

“Sycamore’s existing operations remain fully active. Its consumer lending platform operates under FCCPC approval and Sycamore Investment and Asset Management Limited (SIML) holds a current SEC licence. All customer funds and investments are secure and fully accessible,” the fintech company added.

In a separate message to customers, Babatunde Akin-Moses, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sycamore, said on X that the company’s app is fully functional, and customers can continue to save, invest, borrow, and transact as usual.

“We remain committed to the highest standards of governance, transparency, and regulatory compliance, and we will continue to keep our customers and stakeholders informed as appropriate,” he added.

Akin-Moses added that the company’s customer experience team was available around the clock to attend to enquiries.

Sycamore said it would provide further updates as the situation progresses.

On Wednesday, the CBN revoked the operating licences of 46 microfinance banks, including Sycamore MFB in Kano, saying the affected institutions failed to meet regulatory requirements.

The apex bank cited reasons including insufficient assets to meet liabilities, inactivity, closure without approval, failure to commence operations within the stipulated period, and failure to maintain the required minimum capital.

Following the licence revocation, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said it had commenced the liquidation of the 46 affected microfinance banks after being appointed their official liquidator.

NDIC also began the verification and payment of insured deposits to eligible customers, warning the public against transacting with the failed lenders or interfering with their assets.(TheCable)