Nigeria, June 15 -- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has suspended dividend payments to shareholders and bonuses to directors and senior management staff of banks currently benefiting from regulatory forbearance.

The directive was contained in a circular dated 13 June, signed by the bank's Director of Banking Supervision, Olubukola Akinwunmi.

According to the CBN, the move is part of efforts to strengthen capital buffers, enhance balance sheet resilience and promote prudent internal capital retention within the banking sector during what it described as a transitional period.

The regulatory forbearance arrangement, which allows banks some relief in meeting credit exposure and Single Obligor Limit (SOL) requirements, is currently being...