The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had queried some Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) involved in publishing inaccurate forex reports under its new (60:40) foreign exchange policy. Although the apex bank was silent on the identities of the affected lenders, it reiterated that it neither allocates foreign exchange nor does it deal directly with bank customers.
The banking watchdog further clarified that even though its new foreign exchange policy prioritises forex sales to manufacturers, agriculture, plant and machinery, critical raw materials, among others, it does not fix forex rates for transactions by individuals or companies.
The CBN stated these in a statement issued yesterday, which was signed by its Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor.
The banking watchdog stated that the clarification became necessary following media reports alleging irregularities in the rates at which foreign exchange was obtained by some individuals and companies from different DMBs under the new (60:40) foreign exchange policy.
According to the CBN, “Since the introduction of the new forex policy in 2016, we have published, monthly, the evidence of sale from DMBs, as received from the banks and without any alteration by us in the spirit of transparency. We have recently observed, however, that some DMBs forwarded inaccurate data, which were erroneously published and gave a wrong impression of disparate rates.
“The DMBs involved in providing inaccurate data have since been issued queries accordingly. Some have returned a response indicating that some of the figures were related to formatting errors, which do not affect the true rates of the affected transactions.”
Besides, it said: “As the constitutionally authorized industry regulator mandated to manage the forex market, maintain external reserves and to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency, we wish to state unequivocally that the CBN has a duty to perform and would not indulge in acts capable of discrediting the forex market.
“We, therefore, wish to reiterate that the sale of forex under the new policy is most transparent and it is not intended to benefit any individual or corporate body in anyway.”
It will be recalled that following complaints by the Manufacturers’ association of Nigeria (MAN) that the inability of its members to access forex had resulted in a sharp drop in the country’s manufacturing output, the CBN in August last year directed commercial banks and other authorised dealers in the foreign exchange (FX) market to ensure that they channel 60 per cent of total FX purchases from all sources (interbank inclusive) to end users strictly for the purpose of importation of raw materials, plant and machinery.
The CBN also stated at the time that: “The balance of 40 per cent should be used to meet other trade obligations, visible and invisible transactions.
For the avoidance of doubt, authorised dealers are to continue to publish weekly sales of FX to end users in the national newspapers and to render statutory returns on same to the CBN promptly. Please ensure compliance accordingly, until otherwise advised.”
