All Posts in "CBN"

CBN Sheds Light On Implementation Of Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System

 

 

 

Mohammed Shosanya

 

 

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, says the bank’s decision to implement the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) is rooted in the understanding that trust is essential to central banking.

 

 

He disclosed this when he addressed members of the Harvard Club of Nigeria in Lagos at the weekend on the topic: “Leadership in Challenging Times: Restoring Credibility, Building Trust, and Containing Inflation”

 

 

 

Mr. Cardoso reiterated that the CBN’s move was to enhance transparency and provide more accurate oversight of foreign exchange transactions.

 

 

 

He said:“Trust is the currency of central banking. If the public loses trust in the institution, the efficacy of its policies diminishes. Our decision to implement the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) is rooted in this understanding.

 

 

“By enhancing transparency and providing more accurate oversight of forex transactions, we send a strong signal that the CBN is serious about fair and efficient markets,” he added.

 

 

 

Mr. Cardoso,who marks one year in office as CBN Governor, this week, told his audience that leadership, especially as the head of a central bank, often requires making difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions.

 

 

 

He emphasised that the Bank is a listening institution, unafraid to reconsider decisions if they fail to meet its original objectives.

 

 

“In the face of economic challenges, it is imperative to focus on core objectives—restoring the credibility of the institution, building trust in the financial system, and, most critically, containing inflation. These are not just strategic goals; they are foundational to any meaningful recovery,” he said.

 

 

Speaking on his journey on the saddle, Mr. Cardoso recalled that upon assumption of duty, he understood that the credibility of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had to be the bedrock of the actions he and his team took.

 

 

He said:“Without credibility, no policy, however well-intentioned, can succeed. Floating the naira, a decision met with considerable public criticism, was necessary to bring the official exchange rate closer to market reality. The disparity between the official and parallel rates had encouraged arbitrage and speculation, eroding trust in the market.“Credibility is earned by consistency.

 

 

The decision to close this gap, while painful in the short term, sent a message to market participants that the CBN was committed to transparency and sound monetary policy,” he added, noting that speculative trading had been reduced, and stability was gradually returning to the currency markets.

 

 

 

Noting that containing inflation remained the Bank’s core mission, he acknowledged that the CBN was yet to meet its target.

 

 

He stressed that recent declines reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in July and August 2024 showed that the CBN was moving in the right direction. He explained: “Our decision to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 27.25% was a bold move.

 

 

Higher interest rates, while painful for borrowers, are necessary to curb excess money in circulation and control inflation.

 

 

Leadership is about making hard choices to secure long-term stability over short-term comfort in moments like these.Highlighting key leadership lessons, Cardoso said: “Leading through challenging times means avoiding the temptation to take on too many initiatives.

 

 

The Central Bank must focus on its core mandate—price stability. It is easy to become distracted by various political and economic pressures, but as a leader, one must prioritise.“Effective communication is as important as the right policy. Clear and open communication fosters trust.

 

“From publishing the results of the Dutch Auction to ensuring regular updates on economic data, transparency has been our guiding principle.

 

“Trust is built on the belief that a central bank will take the necessary steps to ensure economic stability, even when those steps are uncomfortable or politically contentious,” he declared.

Online Editor by — October 7, 2024 in CBN 0
LASTMA Partners Activists On Traffic Management

 

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA),is partnering with Civil Society Activists on effective and efficient traffic management in the state

The General Manager of LASTMA,Mr Bolaji Oreagba disclosed this on Friday during a courtesy visit by members of Civil Society Activists in Lagos to his office at LASTMA Headquarters at Oshodi.

Mr. Oreagba disclosed that the agency was not established for revenue generation as being insinuated in some quarters.

He maintained that all working ethics of the Authority including operations are being guarded and regulated by the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 as amended.

“Let me inform you that the creation of the Lagos State Mobile Court where all traffic related matters are being decided was to promote fair hearing, justice and equity with reference to any infringement on the right of any motorists”

He implored civil society activists to support the agency in educating road users particularly motorists to desist from driving against traffic (one-way) as this has caused untimely death to many motoring public including innocent passersby.

“We enjoined members of the public particularly motorists to make use of Lastma hotlines (08100565860, 08129928503, 08129928597 & 08174722227) for any information or observation where necessary”

The General Manager,while urging motorists to adhere strictly to all traffic regulations however promised that any complaints sent via any of the Lastma hotlines including social media handles (twitter-ekolastma, Instagram – @followlastma & Facebook- ekolastma) shall be thoroughly investigated without any iota bias

Earlier in his rarks, the coordinator of Civil Society Activists in Lagos Comrade Gbenga Soloki, sought mutual synergy between all relevant government agencies in the state.

He commended LASTMA personnel for its steadfastness in traffic management and control in the state.

He said: “Civil Society Activists across the State would support Lastma in the area of public education and enlightenment on behavioural change of some recalcitrant motorists towards traffic managers on Lagos roads”

admin by — April 14, 2023 in CBN 0
CBN Renews License Of Cellulant’s Payment Service Solution Provider

By Tunde Sholanke

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has renewed Cellulant’s Payment Service Solution Provider License in Nigeria.

The renewal enables Cellulant to continue providing online and offline payment solutions, including collections, check-out, biller aggregation, and payout services securely to thousands of businesses across Nigeriaa statement said.

Cellulant’s digital payments platform, Tingg- enables businesses to seamlessly accept and make payments offline and online.

According to the statement,a single integrated digital payments solution, Tingg addresses the complex needs of managing payments by simplifying the payment experience for the end-user and providing tools and processes for a merchant to manage their collections from a single dashboard.

“At Cellulant, we are committed to providing innovative and accessible digital payment solutions to businesses in Nigeria, which play a pivotal role in enabling financial inclusion and driving economic growth in the country. The renewal of our license is a vote of confidence from the Central Bank of Nigeria on the efforts of our team and partners, who have worked tirelessly to create safe and secure solutions that meet the evolving needs of businesses in Nigeria and the regulatory standards.

“Tingg is now used by thousands of businesses and outlets in the 36 states across Nigeria, enabling businesses to easily collect and make payments, monitor transactions, reconcile and settle cash seamlessly,” said Akshay Grover, Cellulant’s Group CEO.

Nigerian consumers have different payment options, including card, mobile money, bank transfer and cash- with volatile currency fluctuations and no single settlement framework.

As a result, the demand for digital payments continues to increase. Roughly 50% of retail customers request to pay for their purchases using digital payment options.

However, this demand presents several challenges for most merchants who might not always support the customer’s preferred payment method, resulting in merchants having to enable multiple solutions to support multiple wallets and varying processes for settlement and reversals for a merchant.

Tingg solves these challenges by delivering a single solution to accept all digital payment methods (Bank Transfers, USSD payments, Cards & Mobile Money) maintained with the highest compliance and security standards.

Speaking, Frances Diribe, Cellulant’s Group Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, said, “Cellulant is dedicated to meeting the highest standards of risk and compliance management as we understand the importance of maintaining the integrity of our payment platform. We have invested heavily in robust security measures and compliance processes to ensure our customers can confidently use our services. We welcome this news that showcases our compliance with the standards, directives, and regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

In addition to being licensed to operate as a Payments Service Provider in multiple African countries, including Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Botswana, and Zambia, Cellulant has also achieved global security, privacy, business continuity and service management standards. The company’s certifications include ISO 27001 (ISMS), ISO 27701 (PIMS), ISO 22301 (BCMS), ISO 20000-1 (Service Management) and PCI-DSS.

admin by — February 16, 2023 in CBN 0
 CBN Retains MPR 11.5%

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN Mr. Godwin Emefiele ,says that the Monetary Policy Committee members has again retained the Monetary Policy Rate MPR at 11.5 per cent, retained  the asymmetric corridor of +100/-700 basis points around the MPR; retain the CRR at 27.5 per cent and retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent.
He explained that the MPC made the decision to hold all policy parameters constant; adding that the development will enable the continued permeation of current policy measures in supporting the recorded growth recovery and macro-economic stability.
Emefiele,according to the communique issued at the end of the meeting of the committee, said that the economy has been gradually reopening following the effect of the global pandemic noted that it was far from over and therefore continued to hinder the recovery.
He implored the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to intensify efforts towards procurement of more vaccines to ensure that herd immunity is achieved in Nigeria.
He added  that the MPC was concerned about the broad level of insecurity across the country, noting its impact on business confidence and overall economic activities.
According to him,the  persisting insecurity in key commodity producing areas and urged the Federal Government to intensify security surveillance in farming communities to ensure uninterrupted farming activities.
He  said that the committee members expressed optimism about the likely moderating impact of the forthcoming harvests on food prices, as this would contribute to the ongoing broad reduction in headline inflation.
He also said said that the  apex will continue to release maize from its strategic maize reserve directly to feed-millers as part of its strategic response to address rising food prices and moderate the price of maize across the country.
He added  that the members highlighted the contribution of poor infrastructure to rising domestic price levels, tasking the Federal Government to prioritize investment in public infrastructure such as improved transportation networks, power supply and telecommunication facilities.
He explained that the complementary role these bonds would play to boost foreign exchange supply, improving accretion to reserves and easing the exchange rate pressure.
MPC, therefore, encourage the Bank to continue using its existing administrative methods to rein-in inflation by the use of its discretionary CRR policy to mop-up liquidity from the banking system as the need arises.
He also said that the Committee was of the opinion that there was a need to continue to put in place policy measures that will further and faster drive down inflation, while at the same time accelerate output growth to levels above population growth rate.
The committee also encouraged the Bank to continue the use of its intervention mechanism to deploy funds to output-stimulating and employment-generating sectors of the economy, such as, the Targeted Credit Facility, AGSMEIS, Agriculture and Manufacturing.
According to him, “The Committee noted the gradual recovery in output growth following positive growth in the first quarter and improving PMI in subsequent months, expressing confidence that the second quarter output result will show further improvement.”
“It commended the continued effort by both the monetary and fiscal authorities as well as public health agencies in stemming the Pandemic and its impact, thus, returning the economy to a path of recovery.”
He said that the Committee encourages Nigerian banks to extend more credit to consumers and firms to enhance consumption and production activities necessary to strengthen the recovery.
The committee members noted the persistent reduction in remittance of oil revenue to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, stemming largely from rising levels of cost under-recovery and other obligations, particularly to Joint Venture Contracts.The Committee thus, urged the Government to continue to explore additional sources of non-oil revenue, as this would reduce the over dependence on a single revenue source.”
“Members applauded the efforts by the Federal Government to encourage the use of gas in motor vehicles and the payment for conversion of 1 million Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)-driven vehicles to gas-driven, to reduce overall cost of PMS consumption.The committee encouraged the participation of private sector initiatives to develop and expand modular refineries while it frowned at cross-border smuggling of PMS.”
Online Editor by — July 28, 2021 in CBN 0
CBN Explains Benefits Of ‘Naira 4 Dollar Scheme’

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that its new “CBN Naira 4 Dollar Scheme”, is aimed at providing Nigerians abroad with cheaper and more convenient ways of sending remittances to the country.
CBN Governor,Mr Godwin Emefiele stated this at the weekend while delivering the keynote address at Fidelity Bank’s Inaugural Diaspora Webinar on the “Implications and Impact of the New FX Policy on Diaspora Investments”.
He  explained that the move was also to increase the transparency of remittance inflows and reducing rent-seeking activities,
He expressed optimism that the new policy measure will encourage banks and financial institutions to develop products and investments vehicles geared towards attracting investments from Nigerians living abroad.
The added that the  the new policy is expected to enlarge the scope and scale of foreign exchange inflows into the country with a view to stabilising the exchange rate and supporting accretion to external reserves.
He explained that the apex bank  introduced the rebate of N5 for every $1 of fund remitted to Nigeria through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) licensed by the Central Bank in order to incentivise the process of remittance.
He explained that the rebate will be provided to the bank accounts of beneficiaries following receipt of remittance inflows.
Emefiele emphasised that the new measure would help to make the process of sending remittance through formal bank channels cheaper and more convenient for Nigerians in the diaspora.
Online Editor by — March 8, 2021 in CBN 0