Abbey Mortgage Bank has secured the go-ahead from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to proceed with its conversion into a regional commercial bank. The mortgage lender announced on Wednesday that its name has also been officially changed from "Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc" to "Abbey Bank PLC", following shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting held on January 24, 2025.

The announcement led to a jump in the bank's shares, which rose by 5.4 per cent to N7.8 per unit on the Nigerian Exchange at the close of trading on Wednesday. Abbey Mortgage Bank offers services including real estate construction finance and personal banking.

This transition follows a trend of financial institutions converting to full-fledged commercial banks, such as Nova Bank's conversion from a merchant bank in 2024. The CBN's new capital requirements mandate that regional commercial banks maintain a minimum capital base of N50 billion, a significant increase from the previous N10 billion.

At its annual general meeting last Monday, Abbey Mortgage Bank also received shareholder approval for a N100 billion debt issuance programme and consent to raise an additional N64.5 billion in equity capital, pending regulatory approvals.

As of March 2026, the bank's total assets stood at N222.4 billion, an increase from N165.8 billion in December 2025. Its post-tax profit for the first quarter of 2026 climbed to N715.3 million from N340.5 million in the same period the previous year. Gross earnings also saw a substantial rise of 85.6 per cent to N7 billion.

VFD Group, a proprietary investment company listed on the Nigerian Exchange, is the largest shareholder with a 22.5 per cent stake in Abbey Mortgage Bank.