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  • CBN to sack CEOs, chairmen of banks with delayed accounts

    Any bank which fails to publish its annual account 12 months after the financial year end will have its chief executive sacked, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed.

    Also to be fired is the chairman of such a bank.

    This directive is contained in the CBN’s Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Guidelines for Fiscal Years 2018/2019 released at the weekend. It was signed by CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.

    The policy aligns with the provisions of the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 1991, which require banks to, subject to the written approval of the CBN, publish their audited financial statements-  financial position and comprehensive income- in a national newspaper printed and circulated in Nigeria not later than four months after the end of each financial year.

    Besides, to allow the implementation of consolidated supervision, the CBN directed all banks, discount houses and their subsidiaries to continue to adopt December 31 as their accounting year end.

    ”The CBN will continue to hold the Board Chairman and Managing Director of a defaulting bank directly responsible for any breach and impose appropriate sanctions, which may include barring the Managing Director or his/her nominee from participation in the Bankers’ Committee and disclosing the reason for such suspension.”

    “It will also include suspension of the foreign exchange dealership licence of the bank and its name sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (in the case of a public quoted company) and removal of the Chairman and Managing Director/CEO from office if the accounts remain unpublished for 12 months after the end of the bank’s financial year,” the report said.

    One Systematically Important Bank (SIB) with offshore subsidiaries in three countries has failed to publish its financial statement for the past three years. Its last published financial statement was for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

    Also, based on the new CBN’s policy on financial account publication, any bank that fails to publish its 2017 financial statement by the close of business today will be sanctioned by the regulator.

    The new CBN policy spells out borrowing terms and liquidity positions for commercial, merchant and noninterest banks. It says the minimum liquidity ratio for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks should be retained at 30, 20 and 10 per cent,  subject to review from time to time.

    “In the 2018/2019 fiscal years, discount houses will continue to maintain a minimum investment of 60 per cent of their total liabilities in government securities. The ratio of individual bank loans to deposits is retained at a maximum of 80 per cent. The Net Open Position (NOP), long or short, of the overall foreign currency assets and liabilities taking into cognisance both on and off-balance sheet items will not exceed 10 per cent of shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses,” it said.

    It said the aggregate foreign currency borrowing of a bank, excluding intergroup and inter-bank (Nigerian banks) borrowing, will not exceed 125 per cent of shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses. “Banks are expected to hedge borrowing using financial market tools acceptable to the CBN; borrowings must be subordinated debts with prepayments allowable only at the instance of the bank and subject to prior approval of the CBN; and all debts, with the exception of trade lines, will have a minimum fixed tenor of five years,” it added.

    On discount window operations, the CBN specified that all eligible markets players may borrow funds from or lend funds to the CBN on short-term basis, to meet their temporary shortage of liquidity occasioned by internal or external disruptions or deposit their excess funds, respectively. “The window, through the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) and the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) will be accessible at a stipulated time at the end of the business day to enable the institutions square up their positions overnight at appropriate rates tied to the Monetary Policy Rate,” it said.

    It advised banks to seek profitability by driving down cost and charging competitive rates instead of charging excessive rates of interest. Therefore, banks are expected to develop and implement a Risk-Based Pricing Model in line with the provisions of CBN.

    The CBN will continue to maintain and upgrade the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System for settlement of inter-bank fund transfers and time-critical payments and categorise banks into settlement and non-settlement banks for the purpose of clearing and settlement.

    The settlement banks are to participate directly in the clearing houses and receive their net clearing position in their settlement account with the CBN while non-settlement banks receive their net clearing position through the settlement account of their settlement bank.

    “Any bank applying for direct participation as a settlement bank will be required to possess  the capacity to provide the required clearing collateral of N15 billion, subject to periodic review. Such lender will also have ability to offer agency facilities to other banks and to clear and settle on their behalf and have adequate branch network, in all the CBN locations,” it said.

    On capital adequacy, the CBN said the minimum ratio of total qualifying capital to total risk-weighted assets will remain at 10 per cent for regional and national banks, and 15 per cent for international banks in the 2018/2019 fiscal years.

    ”Not less than 66.67 per cent of banks’ capital will comprise paid-up capital and reserves. Banks will also maintain a ratio of not more than one to ten (1:10) between adjusted capital funds and total credit net of provisions. They are encouraged to maintain a higher level of capital commensurate with their risk profile. Banks and banking groups are required to comply with the appropriate guidelines for the measurement and calculation of capital requirements.”

    The differences resulting from the comparison of expected losses determined under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with all losses determined under the prudential guidelines will continue to be adjusted under the statement of changes in equity, through the non-distributable regulatory reserve.

    The CBN said it will continue to enforce the stipulated penalties for noncompliance with regulatory guidelines, as well as the provisions of the CBN Act 2007 and the BOFI Act 1991 (as amended), in the 2018/2019 fiscal years. “Any financial institution that fails to comply with extant guidelines and other directives that may be issued by the CBN will be sanctioned accordingly,” the CBN said.

     

  • CBN pegs daily mobile transactions at N100,000

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday pegged maximum daily transactions through mobile phone- Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)— at N100,000. The implementation of the policy starts June 1.

    Due to absence of set rules on USSD transactions, many commercial banks allow various limits, ranging from N100,000 to N500,000 and above in some cases, depending on customers’ risk absorption levels. This has exposed many customers’ transactions to high risk, with billions of naira lost to fraudsters.

    The new framework signed by CBN Director, Banking & Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun said vast applications of the USSD technology, in terms of available services have raised the issue of the risks inherent in the channel.

    The USSD technology is a protocol used by the GSM network to communicate with a service provider’s platform. It is a session based, real time messaging communication technology, which is accessed through a string, which starts normally with asterisk (*) and ends with a hash (#). It is considered cost effective, more user-friendly, faster in concluding transactions, and handset agnostic.

    The framework noted concerns on the likely exposure of CBN approved entities to the possible breaching of the USSD accessed financial services in view of likely vulnerabilities in the technology and the ever growing threats.

    Fatokun said the policy shift was in furtherance of CBN’s mandate to develop and enhance security of the electronic payment system. The implementation of the policy starts June 1, 2018.

    Fatokun had in a circular to banks, switches, Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), Payment Solution Service Providers, Microfinance banks, among others, Fatokun said although the N100,000 limit per customer, per day for transactions applies, customers desirous of higher limits shall execute documented indemnities with their banks or MMOs.

    The CBN, he said, has also mandated the use of an effective second factor authentication by customers for all transactions above N20,000. This, he said, shall apply in addition to the Personal Identification Number (PIN) being used as first level authenticator, which applies to all transaction amounts.

    According to the framework, banks shall not send the second factor authentication to the customer’s registered GSM number or device; and it shall not be generated or displayed on the USSD menu.

    Banks, it added, are also required to install a Behavioural Monitoring system with capability to detect SIM-Swap/Churn status, user location, un-usual transactions at weekends, among others. This shall be achieved by 31st October 2018.

    The framework said financial Institutions shall be responsible for setting up dispute resolution mechanism to facilitate resolution of customers’ complaints and shall treat and resolve any customer related issues within three working days. Also, non-compliance shall be subject to penalty, as may be prescribed by the CBN, from time to time.

    “There shall be Service Level Agreement between the Financial Institutions and MNOs/VAS & aggregators, benchmarked against the Nigeria Communication Commission Quality of Service (QoS) regulation and service availability requirements of electronic payment services of the CBN,” it said.

    It said service providers should put in place systems that enable users/subscribers to block their account from operating USSD service and that no USSD financial service should be activated for customer unless the deactivation mechanism is put in place with effect from June, 2018.

    On penalties for infractions, it said the appropriate Regulator (CBN and/or NCC) as applicable shall impose appropriate sanctions for any contravention on any participant that fails to comply with this framework.

    The new framework is in exercise of the powers conferred on the CBN by Section 47(2) of the CBN Act, 2007, to promote and facilitate the development of efficient and effective system for the settlement of transactions.

  • NYSC promises empowerment to curb unemployment

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Anambra on Monday promised a bouquet of training and empowerment activities to new Corps members toward curbing the challenges of unemployment in the country.

    The NYSC Coordinator, Mr Ebenezer Olawale, made the assertion during the induction of the Corps members at the NYSC temporary orientation site, Umunya, Oyi Local Government Area of the state.

    Our reporter confirmed that no fewer than 2,127 Corps members were sworn-in for the 2018 Batch A Orientation programme, including 1, 038 males and 1, 089 females.

    He said that officials of the Corporate Affairs Commission, NAFDAC, Bank of Industry, CBN-NYSC Foundation and other agencies would teach them business and registration to enable them develop their entrepreneurial abilities.

    “In view of the concerted efforts of the Federal Government to reduce the rate of unemployment among our graduate youths, much emphasis is placed on skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development with more time allotted to increasing the number of self-reliant youths,’’ he said.

    He also urged them to imbibe the core values of the scheme, including patriotism, teamwork, integrity, efficiency and commitment which they would be taught while in camp.

    Olawale restated the call on Gov. Willie Obiano to complete the permanent site of the orientation camp at Umuawulu/Mbaukwu to enhance the welfare of Corps members.

    He thanked the Anglican Diocese for their magnanimity in allowing them to use their present facility.

    On his part, Obiano promised that Anambra would continue to provide enabling environment for youths to maximise their potential.

    Obiano, who was represented by Mr Bonaventure Enemali, Commissioner for Youth Empowerment and Creative Economy, while declaring the camp open, urged them to contribute to the greatness of Anambra by surpassing their predecessors.

    NAN

     

  • Nigeria’s economy on track, says CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the economy has overcome its challenges and will continue to thrive because of the steps taken to achieve growth and stability.

    CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, who made this known at the  International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC, United States, said negative predictions on the economy did not come to pass. The CBN, he said, had ensured that its steps on exchange rate stability and improved liquidity in the foreign exchange (forex) market were achieved.

    “About a year ago, we were here and the story was different. If you recall, the Nigerian economy was going through one of its worst situations. Inflation was high, the foreign exchange market was in turmoil and the economy was in recession. Also, we faced a crunchy foreign exchange scarcity and everybody swooped on Nigeria. Our reserves were down and the whole situation was ominous. I can recall that at that time we knew what we were doing and everybody was saying we were wrong, but we waited for the time to play out,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “I am happy to report that time has proved that we were right and they were wrong about our economy. We have our reserves strong, over $47 billion, inflation has gone down to 13.34 per cent, foreign exchange market is now very stable and growth has taken off, we are out of recession.”

    According to Okorafor, it is all positive news. “We needed to underscore this top say that yes, we were right, we knew our economy and we have done what was then wrong, which we believed is the right thing. We are happy to report that everything we have done proved to be right and we will continue to do that,”he said.

    He said the CBN has continued to fund the real sector more vigorously as the issue of productivity is very important. “We have launched the new Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme, which will also support production by small and medium enterprises. We have launched the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, which will further boost employment, especially youth employment. We know we are on the right track, we’ll continue to build up reserves,” he said.

    Okorafor said the CBN has maintained stability in the foreign exchange market for the past nine months.

    “Industrial production has improved because we have steadily supplied the manufacturing sector with foreign exchange for their raw materials and machinery so we are happy that this year not a negative mention has been said about Nigeria, it is left for them to admit that we were right and they were wrong,” he said

    The CBN, he said, has achieved a considerable level of exchange stability. “The investors and exporters window since it was launched has continued to bring in a lot of foreign exchange and of stability is a relative thing. We have achieved stability in a significant way and we are working towards a time when all the sectors of the market converge at one point. As time goes on, we will see it play out as we promised last year,” he said.

    On suggestion by the World Bank that the CBN should tighten the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), Okorafor said: “As the governor said, it is the opinion of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that will determine where the rates will be. We will look at the needs of the economy and continue to see how the rates will be adjusted. Members of the MPC will look at the sectors of the economy and adjustments will be done accordingly.”

  • CBN injects $210m into forex market

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stepped into the inter-bank sector of the Foreign Exchange market, yet again, intervening in the wholesale segment and other sectors of the market to the tune of $210 million.

    Figures released yesterday by the bank revealed that the Wholesale sector of the market got another injection of $100 million, just as the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles sectors each received $55 million.

    Confirming the figures, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said  Tuesday’s interventions, like the previous intermediations, were in line with the Bank’s commitment to sustain the high level of stability in the Forex market and continually ease access to the currency by those requiring it for genuine activities.

    Okorafor, while commending the role of every player in the market, said the CBN was ready to inject funds into the market, whenever and wherever necessary, in order to maintain market stability as well as sustain the financial system.

    He also said the financial regulator was further buoyed by recent gains in the foreign exchange sector, which had seen the country’s reserves soar closer to the $50 billion mark. Speaking further, Okorafor said the country’s reserves continued to enjoy accretion, adding that the present reserves status at the Bank meant that the CBN was capable of sustaining foreign exchange liquidity in the system.

    Tuesday’s intervention came as one United States Dollar (US$1) exchanged for N361 in the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market.

    Meanwhile, it will be recalled that the CBN in its last interventions on Friday, April 20, 2018, injected the sum of $396.18million into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).

     

  • Money market liquidity hits N500b as CBN mops up cash

    Money market rates have responded to the financial system liquidity, which has remained above N500 billion, following mop-up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    As with other weeks, investors’ appetite for Open Market Operations (OMO) securities, especially the long-dated maturities, are noticed in the subscription report released by Afrinvest Limited, an investment and research firm.

    The Open Buy Back (OBB) and Overnight (OVN) rates have trended lower week-on-week, reflecting an improvement in system liquidity, which opened at N501.4 billion as OBB and OVN rates fell to 3.3 per cent and 3.5 per cent, down by 0.4 percentage points (ppt) and 0.5ppt from last week’s close.

    In the Treasury Bills market, performance was largely flattish as average rate across benchmark tenors trended higher, albeit marginally on three of five trading sessions save last week. The bearish started the week, with an average rate rising from 2bps to 13.1 per cent. It was reversed on Tuesday following four basis points (bps) decline in average yield; but rose by three bps mid-week in the absence of a Primary Market Auction and stayed flattish till the end of the week.

    Analysts anticipate a largely bullish performance in the Treasury Bills Market this week, sequel to the reduction in the amount to be rolled over in line with the planned reduction and substitution of expensive domestic short- term debt with cheaper long term foreign debt by the Federal Government.

    A total of N116.9 billion across the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day instruments will be maturing while only N58.4 billion is scheduled to be rolled over.

    On the foreign exchange market, the improving global demand on the back of optimistic growth outlook, sustained OPEC production cut deal and Saudi Arabia’s vow to cut more oil output, propped global oil prices during the week as Brent Crude gained 7.5 per cent week-on-week to close at $72.28/billion.

    This positive development continues to strengthen the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) external reserves buffer – which during the week sustained the recent momentum of accretion, with the gross level reported at $46.7 billion as at (09/04/2018) – and its capacity to uphold the level of forex intervention needed to support the local currency.

    Consequently, the CBN in line with trend continued its weekly forex intervention sales, offering $210 million via the Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS); in its commitment to sustain liquidity levels and maintain stability in forex rate across all segments of the market. As a result, the naira was stable during the week.

    The CBN’s spot rate opened the week at N305.60/$1 and appreciated to N305.55/$1 on Monday but maintained this rate till the end of the week.

    At the parallel market, rates started the week at N362.00/$1 but margially weakened by N1 to close at N363/$1 At the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) Window, opened the week flat at N360/$1 and closed at the same rate by week-end. Activity level in the Investors & Exporters forex window improved, following a 6.8 per cent increase in turnover to $1.1 billion from $1 billion traded in the previous week.

    Also, the local bond market was bullish this week as the average yield declined week-on-week consequent on investors’ reaction to the monetary policy rate retention and a moderation in headline inflation rate to 13.34 per cent from 14.33 per cent in February.

    Accordingly, the average yield across tenors fell six bps on Monday to close at 13.6 per cent due to buying interest across tenors, specifically in short and medium dated instruments. The downward trend in yield continued till mid-week as the average yield across tenors further moderated to 13.6 per cent (5bps lower) on Tuesday and 6bps lower on Wednesday before settling at 13.5 per cent on Thursday. Average yield closed the week at 13.5 per cent on Friday, recording a 23bps decline W-o-W.

    Based on our near term outlook, we expect the bullish performance to be sustained in the moderating yield environment as investors retain interest in longer dated maturities.

     

  • Cost of Buhari’s London treatment: CBN, governor know fate June 5

    AN Abuja Federal High Court has fixed June 5 for judgment in a suit seeking to compel the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to provide information on the amount the country spent on President Muhammadu Buhari’s treatment in London last year.

    Justice John Tsoho chose the date yesterday after parties adopted their final written addresses and made their final submissions.

    Chukwuwike Okafor, counsel for the applicant, the Incorporated Trustees of Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative (ASRADI), urged the court to discountenance the respondents’ argument and grant his client’s reliefs.

    Babafemi Durojaiye, counsel for CBN and its governor – the first and second respondents – prayed the court to dismiss the suit.

    He argued, among others, that the applicant’s grievance was misdirected.

    ASRADI had filed the suit last year following the alleged failure of the CBN and its governor to respond to a Freedom of Information request on what the bank released for the payment of Buhari’s treatment in London.

    The group stated that the apex bank and Emefiele refused to honour its Freedom of Information request contained in a letter dated October 19, 2017, for information on the amount released for Buhari’s medical treatment in London and the amount paid on behalf of the Federal Government as parking fees for keeping the presidential aircraft and crew in the UK while the President’s treatment lasted.

    The group wants the court to declare that the failure of the respondents to provide it with information it sought through “amounts to a wrongful denial of information and is a flagrant violation of the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011”.

    The applicant hinged its prayers on the ground, being a civil society organisation, that advocates for public interest issues and engages in anti-corruption and other related campaigns, was entitled to the information sought under the FOI Act.

     

     

     

     

     

  • CBN begins N26b agribusiness, SMEs cash disbursement

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday commenced the disbursement of N26 billion Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) fund contributed by all deposit money banks to finance eligible projects, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said.

    Speaking at a ceremony to commence disbursement of the fund, he said lenders contributed five per cent of their annual Profit After Tax (PAT) annually to the AGSMEIS fund which is expected to exceed N60 billion by June this year.

    He said: “I am therefore very delighted that we have come to this stage where we are ready to begin the disbursement of these funds to deserving beneficiaries. These beneficiaries are youths who have been trained on various entrepreneurship, vocational and management skills across the country by Entrepreneurship Development Institutions and Centres, such as Fate Foundation, Lagos Business School, House of Tara and Thrive Agric,” he said.

    Emefiele said that upon completion of their vocational training, the specific implements needed to practice their vocations, are procured under the scheme. The beneficiaries’ details including their Biometric Verification Numbers (BVN) are forwarded to the deposit money banks to confirm that they are their customers before accessing the fund.

    He said the commencement of funds disbursement under the AGSMEIS continues a tradition of voluntary initiatives by the Bankers’ Committee to promote developmental programmes for sustainable economic growth.

    ”In designing the AGSMEIS, the Bankers’ Committee engaged with key stakeholders and relied on anecdotal evidence and lessons learnt from the implementation of the SMEEIS. Pivotal to such lessons, is that during a business life cycle, different types of financing are required, at the birth of the business, initial growth stage, expansion and mature operations phases,” he said.

    In line with this, AGSMEIS has been designed to be implemented in three (3) broad components, namely Direct, Indirect and Developmental components. Under the Direct component of the AGSMEIS, beneficiaries can access loans to a limit of N10 million, at interest rate of five per cent per annum and a maximum tenor of up to seven years.

    There is also a moratorium period of 18 months on principal and 6 months on interest element, depending on the nature of the business. However, it is mandatory that all loan beneficiaries must have valid Bank Verification Number, which shall be registered on the National Collateral Registry and used to track repayments and blacklist any defaulters.

    He said the five per cent per annum being offered under the AGSMEIS further attests to the unflinching commitment of the deposit money banks to support entrepreneurs to actualize their dreams and ensure that the twin goals of increased employment and poverty reduction are attained.

    Under the Indirect component of the Scheme, beneficiaries can access equity and quasi-equity investments of up to 10 years with an initial lock up period of three years before divestment.

    Emefiel said the challenges of youth unemployment and restiveness in Nigeria must be confronted with strategic innovative thinking to provide sustainable solution.

    “No matter how daunting the challenge might seem, I believe that with unity of purpose we can fight this scourge together. There is no gainsaying the fact that one of the most effective ways to tackle this scourge, is through entrepreneurship development and easy access to affordable financing. Yet, access to finance has been an Achilles heel on entrepreneurship development in the country today.

     

    A situation often credited to financial intermediaries’ apathy to youth entrepreneurship and startups, which are usually perceived as being too risky, lacking relevant managerial skills and not possessing adequate collaterals acceptable for conventional credit,” he said.

    He said the CBN and the banking sector are collaborating on a national Shared Agent Network programme, designed to ramp up access to basic financial services, such as cash-in, cash-out, funds transfer, bill payments, airtime purchase and government disbursements to an estimated 50 million persons who are currently either under-banked or unbanked. This initiative in partnership with licensed mobile money operators and super agents, is expected to roll out about 500,000 Shared Agent Networks within two years through the use of mobile technology.

     

     

     

  • CBN begins agribusiness, SMEs cash disbursement

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the disbursement of N26 billion Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) fund contributed by all deposit money banks to finance eligible projects, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said on Thursday.

    Speaking at a ceremony to commence disbursement of the fund, Emefiele said lenders contributed five per cent of their Profit After Tax (PAT) annually to the AGSMEIS fund which is expected to exceed N60 billion by June this year.

    He said: “I am therefore very delighted that we have come to this stage where we are ready to begin the disbursement of these funds to deserving beneficiaries. These beneficiaries are youths who have been trained on various entrepreneurship, vocational and management skills across the country by Entrepreneurship Development Institutions and Centres such as Fate Foundation, Lagos Business School, House of Tara and Thrive Agric,” he said.

    Emefiele said that upon completion of their vocational training, the specific implements needed to practice their vocations are procured under the scheme.

    The beneficiaries’ details including their Biometric Verification Numbers (BVN) are forwarded to the deposit money banks to confirm that they are their customers before accessing the fund.

    He said the commencement of funds disbursement under the AGSMEIS continues a tradition of voluntary initiatives by the Bankers’ Committee to promote developmental programmes for sustainable economic growth.

     

     

  • CBN lifts forex market with $210m

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has injected $210 million into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market. The forexinjection was inline with its desire to ensure that forex is available for customers’ needs in various segments of the market.

    According to the figures obtained from the CBN, the bank offered $100 million to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segmentreceived the sum of $55 million.

    Customers requiring foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were also allocated the sum of $55 million.

    TheCBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department (CCD), Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the figures and reassured the public that the bank would continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market in line with its desire to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

    Responding to market reactions, he also assured Nigerians that with the assumption of duty of the new Deputy Governors and Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members, the Bank was poised to taking more sound decisions needed for economic development.