Central Bank of Nigeria - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

Nigeria cenbank sacks boards of three lenders for regulatory failures

NIGERIA'S central bank has sacked the boards and management of three lenders for non-compliance with banking regulations and corporate governance failures, it said. The affected lenders are privately held Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank, each of which had come under government control in the past. The move by Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso comes as the sector gears up for an expected regulatory-induced capital hike which the governor has said is needed to support Nigeria's economic growth ambitions. "The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dissolved the Board and Management of Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank,"…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s central bank pays nearly $2 billion towards FX backlog

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S central bank has paid nearly $2 billion in outstanding foreign exchange forwards in the last three months in a bid to clear a backlog of dollars, a spokesperson has said, but forex shortages continue to hobble the country's naira currency. Africa's biggest economy has nearly $7 billion in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors, but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has promised to pay up to boost confidence in the foreign exchange market. "In the past three months, the CBN has also redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to almost USD 2 billion," acting spokesperson…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian central bank lifts ban on crypto trading

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S central bank has lifted a ban on transacting in cryptocurrencies while saying global trends had shown a need to regulate such activities, the bank said in its latest circular. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in February 2021 barred banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in crypto assets, citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks. Subsequently Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May last year published regulations for digital assets that signalled Africa's most populous country was trying to find a middle ground between an outright ban on crypto assets and their unregulated use. In a…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria central bank says old bank notes to remain legal tender

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S central bank said that old bank notes that were due to be removed from circulation next month would now remain legal tender, ending months of uncertainty after an attempt earlier this year to remove them caused serious cash shortages. The Supreme Court in March ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend until December 31 the use of old 1,000, ($1.18) 500 and 200 naira notes, whose initial withdrawal from circulation became an election issue after it caused widespread hardship and anger. The bank had defended the removal of the notes, saying new ones would be harder to counterfeit and…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s new foreign exchange policy is good news – but it can’t work wonders for the economy on its own

BUSINESS

THE Central Bank of Nigeria recently announced changes to the way the country’s foreign exchange market will work. Foreign currencies can now be bought and sold at rates determined by the market – not by the central bank. This signals the intention of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to allow market forces to determine the value of the naira. STEPHEN ONYEIWU, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College In the past, there were multiple exchange rates for the currency. The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly called on Nigeria to end this. The huge gap between the official and unofficial rates…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Africa’s central banks lead the way, embrace open banking

NEWS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY NIGERIA in March became the first African country to launch open banking on the continent, after publishing guidelines on how traditional lenders may connect to a global digital market poised to grow from US$13.9 billion to US$123.7 billion by 2031, according to Allied Market Research. According to a circular published by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the regulations are backed by the country's data protection laws and are geared towards enhancing efficiency, competition and access to financial services. "The adoption of Open Banking in Nigeria will foster the sharing of customer-permissioned data between banks and…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s central bank made critical mistakes that doomed the country’s currency redesign

BUSINESS

NIGERIA has successfully introduced new banknotes on about 10 occasions since its independence in 1960. So why has the latest attempt been so controversial and traumatic? And what measures need to be taken to avoid a future debacle? Nigeria’s central bank announced the introduction of new banknotes last November, with the changeover to new notes scheduled for mid-December. The rollout of the policy disintegrated into chaos, amid mounting anger among ordinary Nigerians. The rollout of the currency change was disastrous. The fallout included: Severe shortages of the new banknotes. Precipitous declines in business transactions (especially in the informal sector). Long…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Threats, detentions and frozen assets: Nigeria’s protesters depict pattern of intimidation

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE and PAUL CARSTEN AT 7 a.m. on a recent Saturday, Onomene Adene received a call from a man whose voice she did not recognise. The man said he knew her from church and asked for help getting a package to their pastor. She agreed to meet him at a bank near her home in the Nigerian city of Lagos. But shortly after she arrived, according to Adene, three trucks pulled up filled with police armed with rifles and tear gas demanding that she take them to her brother. Terrified, she complied. "It was like they were coming for…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s central bank freezes accounts of police brutality protesters

NEWS

NIGERIA’S central bank froze the accounts of 20 people linked with anti-police brutality protests after receiving a court order, the regulator said. Many of those affected were prominent during Nigerian protests last month known as #EndSARS, one of the West African country's biggest social upheavals in 20 years, which attracted global attention as thousands of people campaigned for an end to police brutality. The demonstrations came to a head-on October 20 when security forces opened fire and killed at least 12 protesters in Lagos, according to witnesses and Amnesty International. The army and police have denied the killings. A federal…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria central bank sells $50 mln to gauge foreign FX demand -traders

BUSINESS

CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA NIGERIA'S central bank has sold around $50 million to foreign investors on the spot and forward markets, in what the bank called a test trade to gauge the level of dollar demand on the currency market, traders said on Wednesday. Nigeria’s central bank has sold around $50 million to foreign investors on the spot and forward markets, in what the bank called a test trade to gauge the level of dollar demand on the currency market, traders said on Wednesday. The central bank has gradually restarted dollar sales after it halted supplies following a coronavirus-induced lockdown to slow…