Forex sales: CBN puts commercial banks on notice

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) on notice that it will stop selling forex to them by the end of 2022.

CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the end of the Bankers’ Committee Meeting where he also introduced the RT200 Programme.

Emefiele said the time had come for the banks to go out there and source for forex by funding entrepreneurs with ideas.

The CBN, Emefiele said, will support the banks by granting rebates and other support until the banks find their feet in sourcing their forex by themselves.

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Emefiele also disclosed that the apex bank’s policies and measures have led to a significant improvement in diaspora inflow from an average of US$6 million per week in December 2020 to an average of over US$100 million per week by January 2022.

The CBN, he said, would be reviewing these intervention programmes going forward to ensure that they continue to achieve the desired results.

It would be recalled that the CBN had in July 2021 also stopped sales of Dollar to Bureau De Change operators, saying the parallel market has become a conduit for illicit forex flows and graft.

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He said international bodies, including some embassies and donor agencies, have been complicit in illegal forex transactions that have hindered the flow of foreign exchange into the country.

Emefiele said the organisations have chosen to channel forex through the black market than use the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, called Nafex.

Accordingly, Emefiele said banks are mandated to “immediately” and transparently sell forex to customers who present the required documents. All banks are to immediately create dedicated tellers for the same purpose.