This study assessed how managerial capabilities influence the competitive advantage of deposit money banks operating in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State, Nigeria. The study focused on five dimensions of managerial capabilities, namely sensing, innovation, networking, seizing, and reconfiguration capabilities, while competitive advantage was assessed through market share and business expansion. A descriptive survey design was employed. The study population consisted of 328 management and non-management employees of four selected deposit money banks in Makurdi Metropolis: Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, and United Bank for Africa. Because the population was considered manageable, all members of the population were included through a census sampling approach. Data were obtained from respondents using a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. Face, content, and construct validity procedures were applied to establish the adequacy of the research instrument. The KMO measure recorded a value of 0.802, while Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was statistically significant (χ² = 377.231; p < 0.05), indicating that the data were appropriate for factor analysis. The reliability assessment produced an overall Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.774, demonstrating acceptable internal consistency. Multiple regression analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 23. The results indicated that the five dimensions of managerial capabilities were positively and significantly related to competitive advantage. Sensing capabilities recorded β = 0.220 (p = 0.003), innovation capabilities β = 0.115 (p = 0.002), networking capabilities β = 0.125 (p = 0.004), seizing capabilities β = 0.207 (p = 0.001), and reconfiguration capabilities β = 0.207 (p = 0.001). These findings indicate that strengthening managerial capabilities is associated with improved market positioning and business expansion among the selected banks. The study concludes that managerial capabilities represent important organizational resources for enhancing competitive advantage in the banking sector. It therefore recommends that deposit money banks improve their market intelligence activities, encourage continuous innovation, develop productive business networks, strengthen opportunity-seizing practices, and regularly adjust their internal resources to cope effectively with changes in the business environment. 

Keywords: Managerial capabilities, competitive advantage, dynamic capabilities, sensing capability, innovation capability, networking capability, seizing capability, reconfiguration capability, deposit money banks, Nigerian banking sector.