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  • Chevron wins e-payment award

    Chevron wins e-payment award

    Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture, has won the 2013 Electronic Payment Excellence Award of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    According to the CBN, the company won the award, in the multinational category, for its “commitment to the Federal Government’s transformation initiative on end-to-end electronic payment of all forms of salaries, pensions, suppliers and taxes.”

    The General Manager, Policy, Government & Public Affairs, Chevron, Deji Haastrup said Governor of CBN Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, jointly presented the award at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

    The CBN governor noted the company’s alignment with and promotion of a national initiative (electronic payment), which has caused CNL to be “singled out as a model worthy of emulation within your industry category and the country at large.”

    CNL General Manager, Finance, Jerry Uwakwe, thanked the CBN for recognizsing CNLs commitment to electronic payment saying it is in keeping with the company’s value of partnership and ingenuity through technological innovation.

  • CRR splits CBN, banks

    CRR splits CBN, banks

    Some banks have disagreed with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the amounts debited them as Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), The Nation has learnt.

    In July, the CBN raised the CRR for public sector deposits from 38 per cent to 50 per cent. The CRR is the portion expressed as a percentage of banks’ deposit balances, which they must have as reserve in cash with the CBN.

    A report by Renaissance Capital (RenCap) said some CRR amounts and classifications are being disputed by banks. The complaints, it said, were being looked into, adding that based on this, debit amounts are likely to fluctuate between now and end of the year for most lenders.

    RenCap, an investment and research firm, said: “While we estimate First Bank would have had to set aside an additional N150 billion, management states that it was debited N94 billion. Similarly, Access has stated it was debited N50 billion, vs our estimate of N73 billion. According to First Bank management, not all public-sector accounts qualify for the higher CRR. We also note that following the initial debits in August, the CBN has made some follow-up debits across various banks”.

    CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Dr. Sarah Alade said the apex bank took time to study banks’ deposit compositions before implementing the CRR policy.

    She explained that the CRR hike was necessary because there were pockets of liquidity that was destabilising the system.

    The CBN had in August reviewed guideline for CRR reporting. The regulator said deposits from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Bank of Industry (BoI), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) will not be reported as public sector funds.

    Others removed from the CRR list include Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Bank of Infrastructure, closed pension funds belonging to Government Institutions, State pension Boards, Governments Staff associations and cooperative societies.

    However, deposits from all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Companies, State Government MDAs and Companies as well as Local Government MDAs and their Companies were included.

    Also, deposits from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Joint Venture accounts; Sovereign Investment Funds Government MDAs/Companies’ Collection Accounts such as Customs, Federal Inland Revenue Service among others fall within public sector funds. Also in this list are pilgrim welfare board and all accounts belonging to government universities.

    Alade also said forward guidance on CBN intervention in the foreign exchange market would be difficult due to lumpiness in liquidity. The Deputy Governor said of the 16 countries surveyed, the currencies of five recorded appreciation ranging from 0.15 per cent for the UK Pound Sterling to 3.64 per cent for the Euro between December, last year and October, this year.

    However, 10 currencies recorded depreciation ranging from 5.05 per cent for the Canadian dollar to 16.72 per cent for the Argentine Peso in the same period.

     

     

     

    She said the naira remained stable in the Dutch Auction System but depreciated by 2.64 per cent in the interbank market during the review period. On the wider scale, 23 emerging market currencies recorded depreciation of between 1.19 per cent for Peru; and 17.49 per cent for Brazil owing to the announcement effect of the US quantitative easing tapering.

  • CBN grows balance sheet to N13.2tr

    CBN grows balance sheet to N13.2tr

    The balance sheet of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased by 16.6 per cent to N13.2 trillion, its yearly report for 2012 has said.

    It said the development reflected the significant growth of the bank’s investments in Federal Government’s bonds which account for 44.5 per cent of the balance sheet. The foreign assets were 28.9 per cent.

    Loans and advances, 24.9 per cent, fixed assets 16.4 per cent, other assets and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) holding of special drawing rights fell by 15.3 and 0.5 per cent.

    The report said the bank’s paid-up capital stood at N5 billion; the general reserve fund increased by 21.2 per cent to N114.65 billion.

    It attributed the corresponding increase in liabilities to an increase in CBN instruments, which rose by 72.1 per cent. Deposits, notes and coins in circulation increased by 17 and 4.2 per cent, even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocation of special drawing rights fell by 0.5 per cent.

    The audited financial statements of the CBN for the year ended December 31, 2012 showed that a net income of N305.6 billion before operating expenses was realised, representing a decline of 1.8 per cent below the level at end- December 2011.

    The fall in income largely reflected the fall in net interest income (-2.2 per cent), other operating income (-13.7 per cent) and a significant increase in interest expense (320.9 per cent).

    Similarly, operating cost declined by 6.5 per cent, bringing the operating surplus before appropriation to N100.38 billion, which represents an increase of 25.2 per cent over the level at end-December 2011. In accordance with the provisions of Section 22(1) and (2) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007, the sum of N80.3 billion was due to the Federal Government, while the balance accrued to general reserve.

    According to the report, the regulator commenced the implementation of a five-year Information Technology (IT) Strategic Plan. It said the progress recorded in 2012 by the Bank in overall IT capability, using an IT Capability Maturity Model (ITCMM) administered by an independent assessor, indicated that the bank scored 2.77 on a five-point scale, exceeding the target of 2.75 for the programme/project. Other milestones included the overhaul of the IT Infrastructure, and the procurement of a new Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system to enhance Nigeria’s payments system.

    It said the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and noninterest banking reporting was incorporated within a new regulatory application in the bank.

  • Sanusi seeks more govt role in infrastructure funding

    Sanusi seeks more govt role in infrastructure funding

    Infrastructure funding by the government is vital to Nigeria’s and other emerging market’s development, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said.

    He spoke at the Second Biennial Regional Conference of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, held in collaboration with the CBN in Lagos.

    He said though Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in funding infrastructure, especially power, is good, the government should ensure that it has an upper hand over private sector in roles where projects exceed that of the private sector.

    Private sector stake in PPPs, he said, should be between 20 and 25 per cent, adding that such contributions should also be in profitable areas such as large commercial airport construction, among others.

    “Infrastructure development world over, is primarily public sector-driven.

    “Africa’s infrastructure deficit is found in the power sector, whether measured in terms of generation capacity, electricity consumption or security of supply. Africa’s power infrastructure delivers only a fraction of the service found in other developing countries. The 48 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa with a combined population of 800 million generate roughly the same amount of power as Spain, with a population of 45 million,” he said.

    Quoting the World Bank report, Sanusi said the cost of redressing Africa’s infrastructure deficit is estimated at $38 billion per year in vestment, and $37 billion yearly in operations and maintenance.

    He further said this translated to about 12 per cent of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that there is a gap of $35 billion yearly.

    “In considering infrastructure financing options, a mix of sources and increasingly private and innovative ones will be needed to close the infrastructure gap. There is no “one size fits all” solution. The right mix will depend on factors such as financial development, indebtedness, business environment and preferences in each country,” he said.

    Among the innovative financing tools, he said the use of long term sovereign infrastructure bonds has been successful in raising capital for large scale infrastructure projects in Brazil and other emerging markets such as Chile and Malaysia.

    He said that Diaspora bonds are an alternative financing instrument under consideration adding that these are bonds issued by a government to nationals residing abroad to tap their savings for the purpose of infrastructure development in the home country.

  • Fed Govt earns N8tr from oil

    Fed Govt earns N8tr from oil

    The Federal Government earned N8trillion from oil i last year,according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) yearly report released at the weekend.

    Analysis of the receipts indicated that oil revenue (gross) accounted for N8.02 trillion (19.8 per cent of GDP), representing 75.3 per cent of the total. It surpassed the 2012 budget benchmark of N6.6 trillion by 20.9 per cent, but was below the 2011 receipts by 9.6 per cent.

    A breakdown showed that, relative to the preceding year, revenue from crude oil and gas exports fell significantly by 22.2 per cent to N1.7 trillion. Similarly, receipts from domestic crude oil sales declined by 28.2 per cent to N1,874.2 billion, while revenue from petroleum profit tax (PPT) and royalties increased by 9.8 per cent to N4.36 trillion.

    Also, the Federal Government earned N10.65 trillion for the year. The earnings represented 26.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), earnings into the Federation Account substantially exceeded the N9.6 trillion budget benchmark for the 2012 fiscal year.

    The development was attributed to the buoyed receipts from oil and non-oil sources. The sum of N6.5 trillion was transferred to the Federation Account (net) after all deductions, and exceeded the target set in the 2012 budget.

    It said the fiscal operations of the Federal Government resulted in an overall deficit of N975.7 billion, or 2.4 per cent of GDP.

    Provisional data on state government finances indicated an overall deficit of N272.4 billion, while that of the local governments represented a deficit of N2.4 billion. Consequently, the general government consolidated expenditure was N10.09 trillion, or 24.9 per cent of GDP, while aggregate revenue was N8.9 trillion. This resulted in an overall deficit of N1.1 trillion, or 2.9 per cent of GDP, which was financed largely from domestic sources.

    About N1.1 trillion was deducted from gross oil receipts for the Joint Venture Cash (JVC) calls, N2.7 trillion in respect of excess crude /royalty proceeds and “others”, leaving a net distributable balance of N4.1 trillion for the three tiers of the government.

    The report said asset quality of the banks, as measured by the ratio of nonperforming loans to industry total, improved substantially as it declined from 4.95 per cent at end-December 2011, to 3.47 per cent at end-December 2012. The average industry liquidity ratio (LR) stood at 63.9 per cent, and exceeded the prescribed LR of 30 per cent, compared with 69.1 per cent at end-December 2011.

    It said on-site reviews were carried out on 1,196 Other Financial Institutions (OFIs). The exercise included the examination of 936 OFIs and the conduct of spot-checks on 260 bureaux-de-change (BDCs).

    The on-site examination of 791 MFBs showed that 68.3 per cent met the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 10 per cent, compared with 70.4 per cent in 2011. Six hundred and fifty-two MFBs or, 82.4 per cent, complied with the minimum liquidity ratio (LR) of 20 per cent as against 84.0 per cent in 2011. The average liquidity ratio of the institutions was 62.3 per cent, which exceeded the prescribed minimum LR of 20 per cent, compared with 84.0 per cent in 2011.

     

    However, the asset quality of the banks deteriorated as their portfolio-at-risk (PAR) ratio increased to 61.9 per cent, from 46.0 per cent in 2011. This was attributed to the fact that most of the institutions were yet to articulate and adopt appropriate risk management frameworks to mitigate the credit risks inherent in their operations.

  • How CBN supports SME growth

    How CBN supports SME growth

    In the face of the recent launch of the massive N220 billion empowerment fund for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) by the CBN Governor, Bukola Afolabi explores the prospects for a hitherto disadvantaged sector.

    One of the greatest obstacles Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have had to grapple with in Nigeria is access to funds. This is further compounded by the fact that even where credit facilities are available, they may not be able to muster the required collateral to access them. This has invariably led to many of them closing shop, resulting in the loss of thousands of unskilled, semi and skilled jobs across the country; a situation that led to the launching of the National Micro-finance Policy by the President Obasanjo government in 2005/2006.

    That policy, to be supervised and implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria also marked the beginning of the guidelines for setting up and regulating Micro-finance banks. Part of the components of that policy was also the establishment a fund to strengthen the link between entrepreneurship and access to financial services for MSMEs in the country.

    This came to fruition in Abuja, when a N220 billion fund was formally launched at the seventh annual MSMEs Finance Conference and D-8 Workshop on Micro-finance for SMEs by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. The objectives of the new fund, Sanusi revealed is to enhance the ability of the microfinance institutions to shape themselves into low interest, long-term funding organisations that would provide financing windows to improve the capacity of the PFI to meet the credit needs of the micro, small and medium enterprises. The ultimate goal, according to the CBN governor, is for the financial market to integrate the micro-entrepreneurs, alongside low income earners, farmers and artisans into the financial system to improve the effectiveness of the polity.

    Sanusi also noted the MSMEs Finance Conference is focused on financing SMEs since they are generally acknowledged to contribute meaningfully to the growth, income and employment generation and innovation.

    In line with its plan to boost businesses owned and managed by women, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has also set aside N100 million intervention fund for women enterprises. The Director General of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Olusegun Oshinowo, who disclosed this in Lagos last week, said the funds would go a long way in complementing government’s economic transformation agenda. Oshinowo, who spoke at NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) meeting, noted that the fund would assist women entrepreneurs grow their business and create more job opportunities for the youths.

    The NECA boss also stated that the CBN has already set-up a committee to work out modalities of disbursing the fund to beneficiaries.

    He observed that if properly disbursed and utilised, it would create more jobs for the youths and women.

    This was corroborated by Ms. Regina Amadi, Chief Executive Officer of Gracefields Multi-Options Limited, who noted that accessing funds from banks has always being an uphill task.

    Need to enhance a vital sector

    While underscoring the importance of the MSMEs to national economy and growth, Sanusi disclosed that the sector as at 2012 had 8 million businesses, employing 42.4million people and contributing about 46.5 per cent of nominal GDP. He also disclosed that 80 per cent of these MSMEs are excluded from the financial market, a situation that hampers their condition and contribution to the economy, and therefore underscores the importance of the conference.

    Sanusi also lamented that “commercial bank loans to SMEs dropped at an exponential rate” in 2012. He revealed a decline of about 7.5 per cent in the share of commercial bank credit to small scale industries in 2003, which further plummeted to 1 per cent in 2006 and 0.14 per cent in 2012. The reasons identified for this trend, the CBN governor revealed, include lack of managerial capacity, inadequate collateral and poor record keeping among others. He added that other reasons such as high transaction costs and lack of understanding by the banks of the nature and operation of MSMEs as well as other constraints have put the MSMEs at a disadvantage and left them vulnerable.

    He thus called on policy makers in all tiers of government to formulate and implement policies “to strengthen the MSME sub-sector.” He disclosed that the CBN has been working towards improved access to finance for the sub-sector vis-a-vis micro-finance policies, regulatory and supervisory framework, the fortification programme of micro finance banks, designated financial businesses and professionals, consistent framework.

    Other efforts being put in place include the payment system transformation, development of unmovable collateral registry, the financial ombudsman board currently with the National Assembly and the encouragement of lending.

    Sanusi also announced an interest rebate component for women in the fund, so that women entreprenuers who borrow from MFBs can access the funds at a subsidised interest rate of not more than nine per cent.

    In the words of Ms. Regina Amadi, “approaching banks and getting good response from them has been so difficult, but with this fund that would be made available to the women, access to fund by women will be easier.” She added that statistics have shown that women are better at paying back loans than their male counterpart.

    Also speaking at the event, the President of NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), Mrs. Lola Okanlawon, said that the greatest challenges facing many women entrepreneurs are in the areas of financing their businesses. This, she says is because they are either faced with daunting repayment conditions from financial institutions or are unaware of SME friendly schemes that have been put in place to assist them. She therefore demanded an end to the politics played with women entrepreneurs in the country, while stating that employment generation ability of entrepreneurs would be enhanced if the intervention was fully implemented.

     

    Wholesale funds

    The CBN, according to Sanusi Lamido Sanusi will not be lending directly to farmers or businesses. The N220 billion fund is therefore a wholesale funding to the participating financial institutions. “If you are a Micro Finance Bank in Benin (City), you can come to this fund. We assess you, we give you the money at low rate of interest long-term, and then you undertake that you will (equally) lend at low rate of interest. Today commercial banks charge 21 per cent and MFBs charge 30 to 40 per cent interest rate. We are not going to get anywhere near there.”

    He stated that it is a merit-based incentive system where the Micro Finance Bank will earn the right by performing, to get even better credit terms from the fund. “We will start with smaller amounts, and as they lend to their customers and repay and build a track record of performance, they can then access a larger at amount at lower rates of interest and at longer terms.” He concluded.

    In his remarks, President of the Association of Micro Finance Banks of Nigeria, Jethro Akun, said the fund is aimed at transforming the lives of the rural people financially, even as it marks the beginning of unlocking the untapped potentials and opportunities that govern the operations of key players in the micro finance industry.

    Speaking on behalf of the state governors, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi expressed happiness that the conference is focusing on the “rural poor.” He revealed that “the population of the unbanked in our country is wobbling around 70 per cent of our entire population, which is pretty much all of us apart from some of us who are in the urban areas.”

    He also expressed delight that the CBN has initiated the quick release of the N220 billion into the sector, adding that “What is most commendable about this current initiative is the focus on women.”

     

    Women’s enviable track record

    Governor Fayemi noted that women have a track record of micro credit initiative of 100 per cent pay back, adding that this justifies the focus that the central bank has put on them. He concluded that for Nigeria to talk of poverty eradication in the fundamental and not in the corporative sense, “believes focus must be on women, because women are our greatest guarantee in rebuilding our society and eradicating poverty in our various communities.”

    Strict monitoring

    The CBN deputy governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Sarah Alade, admitted that the CBN needs to collaborate with other stakeholders to leverage on what the law permits in terms of regulation, while affirming that it would do whatever is within the bank’s purview to ensure better and tighter regulation.

    On ensuring that the fund gets to intended beneficiaries, she said, “We have done a lot of guidelines and there is a guideline that surrounds that N220 billion. I can assure you that we are going to monitor it. We have done interventions in the past in agriculture that domestic money banks are doing and we are on top of the issues. Once these things starts being disbursed, we will monitor them seriously to make sure that they’re given to the right people and that the money also comes back”.

    Funds guideline

    The fund will be managed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or managing agent to be constituted. But before this takes off, the CBN will manage the fund.

     

  • N60b pension fund trapped in Consolidated Discount

    N60b pension fund trapped in Consolidated Discount

    About N60 billion pension fund is allegedly trapped in the ailing Consolidated Discount Limited (CDL), The Nation has learnt.

    An insider in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who spoke anonymously, said the trapped funds were discovered during the on-going probe of the books and accounts of CDL.

    The source also disclosed that the management of CDL allegedly maintained three different books – one for the auditors, one for the CBN and another for the public. He said the top management of CDL were aware of the mismanagement in the company but did nothing about it.

    The source further said the CBN had moved into the CDL to rescue it, thinking that its problem was based on illiquidity, until it discovered the level of abuse perpetrated by the management.

    The CBN called a meeting of the banks that controlled majority shares in CDL, and was at the verge of resolving the financial crisis, before it discovered the true state of its accounts.

    According to the source, it was at that point that the regulator decided to send in investigators.

    Reacting to the pension fund trapped in the embattled CDL, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) said the CBN had given guarantee to pay and have started paying.

    A source at the commission who does not want his name mentioned said PenCom is not worried as CBN has agreed to return all the investment of people involved in the company.

    He explained that the meeting was held between the CBN, NDIC, PenCom and PeNop, the umbrella body of Pension managers in the country following discovery by CBN that the CDL was turning in false report.

    He said: “The CBN discovered and liquidated the company following irregularities discovered. We held a meeting and the CBN guaranteed to pay.They started paying some weeks back and PenCom is satisfied with the payments made so far. We are not worried and we believe CBN will pay the rest of the money as soon as possible”.

    When contacted, a staff member of CDL, who did not want to be mentioned, said he believes whatever the CBN has said concerning the company.

    In a letter to CDL Interim Administrator obtained by The Nation, CBN Director of Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins, informed lenders and unsecured depositors of the discount house of the probe. She said the CBN will pay the principal sums constituting the deposit liabilities of CDL to them after the verification.

    “This is to intimate all lenders and unsecured depositors of Consolidated Discount Limited (CDL) of on-going investigation into the books and accounts of the discount house by the CBN.

    “We assure such lenders/unsecured depositors that the CBN shall, without prejudice, pay the principal sums constituting the deposit liabilities of CDL to such lenders/unsecured depositors after the verification expected to be concluded soon,” she said.

    Tokunbo advised the lenders not to panic as no funds deposited with the discount house would be lost, adding that the investigation will be accorded ‘speedy conclusion’.

     

  • CBN guarantees N840m to 4,400 farmers under ACGS

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guaranteed N840 million to 4,413 farmers under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) in August, a report by the regulator has said.

    This amount represented a decrease of 6.9 per cent and 77 per cent below the levels in the preceding month and the corresponding period of 2012, respectively.

    A sub-sectoral analysis showed that food crops obtained the largest share of N669.9 million guaranteed to 3,195 beneficiaries, livestock got N123.9 million (14.9 per cent) guaranteed to 1,016 beneficiaries, while fisheries had N27.6 million (3.4 per cent) guaranteed to 93 beneficiaries.

    Others received N6.2 million (0.7 per cent) guaranteed to 62 beneficiaries, mixed crops received N6.2million (0.7 per cent) guaranteed to 24 beneficiaries, while Cash crops received N6.1 million (0.7 per cent) guaranteed to 23 beneficiaries.

    Analysis by state showed that 28 states benefited from the Scheme during the month with the highest and lowest sums of N121.3 million (19.9 per cent) and N22.7 million (0.1 per cent) guaranteed to Edo and Delta states, respectively.

    Also, the total amount released by the CBN under the CACS to the participating banks for disbursement stood at N220.2 billion for two hundred and ninety one (291) projects/promoters.

    Available data indicated that agricultural activities received a major boost due to stable and well distributed rainfall in August 2013.

    However, prospects for increased agricultural output remained constrained due to security concerns in most Northern states.

    Activities in the sector were dominated by harvesting of maize, yam and vegetables. In the livestock sub-sector, most poultry farmers intensified clearing and disinfesting of broiler houses and surroundings to minimise the incidence of diseases associated with wet season. The farmers also re-stocked broilers to target end of year festivities.

  • Oil revenue drops to N457b, says CBN

    Oil revenue drops to N457b, says CBN

    FEDERAL Government’s earnings from oil dropped by 29.2 per cent to N457.23 billion in August, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

    In a statement obtained from its website, the CBN said the oil receipts constituted 60.1 per cent of the total revenue.

    It said the revenue fall was largely as a result of the shortfall in receipts from exports and other oil revenue during the period.

    At N303.06 billion, gross non-oil receipts constituted 39.9 per cent of the total, and was 0.9 per cent above the monthly budget estimate. This was however lower than the level in the preceding month by 25.1 per cent. The increase in non-oil revenue relative to the receipts in the preceding month, reflected largely the rise in receipts from corporate and education taxes.

    It said the rise in receipts relative to the monthly budget estimate, reflected largely the increased receipts from Corporate and Education Taxes, adding that Federal Government estimated retained revenue was N261.88 billion, while total estimated expenditure was N362.16 billion. Thus, the fiscal operations of the Federal Government resulted in an estimated deficit of N100.28 billion, compared with the provisional monthly budget deficit of N73.92 billion.

    The report said Nigeria’s crude oil production, including condensates and natural gas liquids, was estimated at an average of 1.88 million barrels per day (mbd) or 58.28 million barrels for the month. This was 0.03 mbd, or 1.6 per cent higher than the 1.85 mbd (57.35 million barrels) produced in the preceding month. It attributed the development to the successful arrests and constant clampdown of crude oil vandals, even though crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region continued to impact negatively on output.

    The CBN said crude oil export was estimated at 1.43 mbd, or 44.33 million barrels per month, stating that this represented an increase of 2.1 per cent, compared with 1.40 mbd, or 43.4 million barrels recorded in the preceding month. Deliveries to the refineries for domestic consumption stood at 0.45 mbd, or 13.95 million barrels during the review month.

    The regulator said the average price of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPECs) basket of 11 crude streams increased by 2.9 per cent to $107.52 per barrel, compared with the level in the preceding month.

    A breakdown of receipts showed that proceeds of industrial, manufactured, minerals, agricultural, and food sub-sectors stood at $88.05 million, $44.33 million, $27.12 million, $42.13 million, and $7.08 million, respectively.

     

    It said world crude oil output in August was estimated at an average of 90.04 million barrels per day (mbd), while demand was estimated at 90.18 million barrels per day (mbd), compared with 89.95 and 89.64 (mbd) supplied and demanded, respectively, in the preceding month. The rise in demand was attributed to increased transportation and industrial fuel usage by the low income economies.

     

     

  • MDAs to use e-channels in salaries, pensions’ remittances

    MDAs to use e-channels in salaries, pensions’ remittances

    To address revenue leakages in the government and private sectors of the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is encouraging ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to ensure salaries, pensions, suppliers and taxes payment are done with e-payment channels. The policy, however, applies to organisations with more than 50 employees.

    The CBN in a circular said the process will reduce time and costs of transactions, minimise leakages in government revenue receipts and provide reliable audit trails, thereby making the payments system comply with global standards.

    The is to save cost, promote transparency and accountability in governance and increase internally generated revenue (IGR). The e-payment policy is also expected to ensure confidentiality of information of e-payment of taxes, salary, pension and suppliers.

    It said, henceforth, payment instructions and associated schedules are no longer to be transmitted to banks by public and private sector organisations through unsecured channels such as paper-based mandates, flash drives, compact discs and email attachments, among others.

    The transactions must be routed through bank approved electronic platform which transmits the instruction to debit a payer’s account and credit a beneficiary’s bank account, mobile account, electronic wallet or any other electronic channels.

    It shall include the ability of a payer to independently monitor and obtain electronic feedback on the status of any payment, at any time without depending on any third party, manual or semi-manual means.

    Draft guidelines that will ratify the policy have been sent to commercial banks and payment service providers. The exercise is in line with its powers as provided in the CBN Act, 2007, Section 47, Sub-section 2(2d).

    It said the policy fully aligns with the core objectives of the National Payment Systems Vision 2020 (NPSV) which is to ensure the availability of safe and effective mechanisms for conveniently making and receiving all types of payments from any location and at any time through multiple channels.

    The CBN said all public and private sector organisations who maintain relationship with employees, pensioners, suppliers and taxpayers and other entities are considered as relevant stakeholders required to work together for the success of the policy.