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  • CBN orders DMBs, Microfinance institutions to open 7.6m new savings accounts

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Microfinance banks to open 7,608,180 new savings accounts to meet its financial Inclusion target.

    Financial institutions in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were given different targets. Lagos banks have the highest target of 2,293,080 while banks in Abuja are to attract 153,000 savings account customers.

    CBN Abuja Branch Controller, Mrs Elizabeth O. Agu made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the inauguration of Financial Inclusion States’ steering committee (FISSCO).

    Agu stated that the apex bank has ordered all Deposit Money Banks (DMB) and Microfinance in the the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to attract a minimum of 1500 and 2500 new savings customers respectively in 2018.

    She also confirmed that the apex bank has commenced the review of the strategy document for achieving required levels of financial inclusion in the country.

    Come 2020, the CBN is targeting 20% adult exclusion from financial services.

    The review is expected to throw up major challenges and corrective options to be adopted to put Nigeria back on track of meeting the 20% exclusion target by 2020.

    According to her, “as we speak, the bank is working on initiatives that are targeted at North East, North West and North Central zones of the country where exclusion rates are still very high. We intend to hold stakeholders’ workshops in those parts of the country to drill down on strategic measures that will give us quick results.”

    She added that “the bank is also working on developing non-interest financial products for the region. We are conceptualizing ways and means to reach out to women whose culture and religion require specialized products and channels”.

    The CBN Abuja Controller informed members of Abuja FISSCO steering committee which comprise top officers of Deposit Money Banks branches in Abuja metropolis and representatives of key agencies that, CBN has evolved appropriate governance arrangements for the implementation of Financial Inclusion Strategy at all levels.

    “We are therefore, inaugurating the Financial inclusion strategy State steering committee to be chaired by the CBN Branch Controller while the head of development finance office will serve as technical officer in the State/ committee” she said.

    In his address, Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) represented by Mr. Abubakar Sanni Pai urged the CBN to create a common platform for stakeholders to contribute their views to achieve the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS).

    Pai noted that “one of the ways to assist the masses to attain economic independence especially those at the bottom of the pyramid is to provide them adequate access to financial services in a convenient and affordable manner.”

    NFIS was launched on the 23rd of October, 2012 with the overall target of reducing the percentage of adult Nigerians excluded from access to financial service from 46.3% in 2010 to 20% in 2020 and make use of financial services with at least 70% of the number in the formal sector.

  • Forex: BDCs beg CBN to sell Naira at N350/$1

    Forex: BDCs beg CBN to sell Naira at N350/$1

    Some Bureau De Change (BDC) operators under the aegis of Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) have appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce foreign exchange (forex) buying rate from N360 to N350 to the dollar.

    President of the Association, Aminu Gwadabe made the appeal on Wednesday after an emergency meeting with 3,500 CBN-licensed BDCs in Lagos. He explained that the operators’ businesses may go underground unless the CBN listens to their demands.

    He said small transaction margins charged by BDCs are not sufficient to keep their operations going, with many operators running at a loss and unable to pay their workers’ salaries.

    Gwadabe, who was represented by ABCON National Treasurer, Gbadamosi Moh-Murtala, said the CBN has also been informed on the need to change the commission on transaction of BDCs from N2 to 3.5 per cent of the transaction volume for the sustainability of their businesses.

    “We are happy that the exchange rate is appreciating. The major problem now is how BDCs can operate without making losses. Many of the BDCs are buying at higher prices and selling lower prices. They sometimes sell below CBN’s rate which is N360 to dollar. That is not event enough to cover overhead left alone profit,” Gwadabe said.

    According to the ABCON boss, the CBN should at the meantime, peg the BDCs buying rate at N358 to dollar to enable them sell at N360 to dollar while it works on longer-term plan of cutting the rate to N350 to dollar and allow them sell at N355 to dollar.

    He said the challenges faced by BDCs are enormous, as many forex users now prefer to buy their Business Travel Allowances (BTA), Personal Travel Allowances (PTAs), medical bills and school fees payment abroad through the banks instead of BDCs following the rate disparity that does not favour the BDCs. He added that the CBN could also, sell dollar to BDCs at same rate it sells to banks, since both sell to the same customers.

    He added: “Even the CBN knows that we are making losses. We are currently out of the market but we have decided not to boycott the market despite the challenges we face. It is better we dialogue. Our body language is to support government policy but while we are doing that, we want the CBN to lower our buying rate”.

    Gwadabe said the BDCs helped the government reduce unemployment rate, adding that any policy that pushes the BDCs out of the market will worsen the unemployment rate in the economy.

    He said the ABCON is also working closely with the CBN to ensure that more sources of forex to the BDCs are explored, especially in getting them to buy export proceeds.

    He however, urged operators to be transparent in their operations and file their returns accurately as such would encourage the CBN to support their operations.

    He also said the group is collaborating with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System and the CBN to automate BDCs’ processes to enhance transparency. He said the BDCs’ can begin to access dollar from International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) directly if the right technology exists. “The automation allows NIBSS to confirm international passport and Bank Verification Number (BVN) authenticity of forex buyers. At ABCON, security of transactions remain our priority,” he said.

    He also said the CBN will be urged to allow operators up till March 31, to pay N250,000 annual licence renewal fee instead of the January 31 deadline set by the regulator.

    Gwadabe said the CBN and Travelex would need to take steps to ensure that the weekly forex disbursements are done on time for the security of their members. “We have told our members to reject any dollar disbursement after 3pm on the selling day. Once it is 3pm, we will abandon the money for Travelex because the security of our members is paramount,” he said.

    The ABCON boss said the group will continue to align with the CBN’s vision of providing a stable framework for the economic development of Nigeria through effective, efficient, and transparent implementation of monetary and exchange rate policy, and management of the financial sector.

  • I didn’t believe it when I was told CBN had no savings – Buhari

    …blames foreign firms, elites for depletion of foreign reserves

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he didn’t believe it when he was told that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had no savings after selling oil for more than $100 per barrel for many years.

    He identified the foreign firms that joined the elite “to perpetuate the fraud” as insurance firms, shipping companies and financial outfits.

    According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke while receiving a delegation of the All Progressives Congress from Kebbi State in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Buhari said he disagreed with the astronomical food import bill presented by the Central Bank of Nigeria from the inception of his administration, saying it was later discovered to be “fraudulent practices” by some elite to deplete the foreign reserves.

    The President said, “When I was told that the CBN had no savings after the windfall of selling oil for more than $100 per barrel for many years, and the production was 2.1 billion barrel per day, I did not believe them.

    “I did not believe them because the majority of Nigerians cannot afford imported food; they rely on what is locally grown.

    “It turned out that 50 per cent of the export bills were fraudulent. That is what the Nigerian elite did.

    “Unfortunately, we will not know all that happened because the elite worked in collusion with institutions in developed countries, such as insurance firms, shipping companies and other financial outfits, to perpetuate the fraud.”

  • CBN, RIFAN to crash price of rice soon

    The National President, Rice Farmers Association, Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, has assured Nigerians that the market prices of locally produced rice will soon crash.

    Goronyo said in Abuja on Wednesday that the price of a 50kg-bag of locally produced rice would plummet from N18,000 to between N6,500 and N7000 by April 2018.

    He said that the price-reduction plans would be achieved under a joint programme of RIFAN and the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which would be launched in Abuja on Jan. 13, 2018.

    Goronyo said that 12 million rice farmers in the country would benefit from the one-year partnership, adding, however, that 300,000 rice farmers from 20 states would be supported at the beginning of the programme in January.

    He said that under the new initiative, the CBN had modified the programme to facilitate its direct relations with RIFAN so as to ensure timely disbursement and full repayment of loans, unlike what obtained in the past.

    He said that the new initiative would double the achievements of the earlier edition of ABP, which was launched on Nov. 17, 2015 in Kebbi, with a target to produce additional 2.5 million tonnes of paddy rice.

    He said that in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1bn daily on rice consumption, adding that while the spending had reduced drastically, rice consumption had increased significantly because of the increase in local production of rice.

    Goronyo said that the available statistics indicated that the rice consumption rate in the country now had increased from 7.9 million tonnes to over 8 million tonnes, while the volume of rice production had increased from 5.8 million tonnes to 6.9 million tonnes per annum.

    He, however, noted that several efforts had been put in place to cut down the price of rice, adding that some of the efforts included collaborations with Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) and other African countries to boost rice production and exports in Africa.

    Goronyo stressed that rice prices would further drop, as there were currently bumper harvests in rice farms across the country, while RIFAN was collaborating with rice millers on the pricing of the commodity.

    Besides, the RIFAN president said that RIFAN had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Customs Service on how to contain rice smuggling into the country through the land borders.

    Goronyo said that the efforts being put in place and the current economic situation in the country had made it somewhat difficult for people to import rice into the country and make profit.

    “The landing cost of a 50kg.-bag of imported rice is now N19, 500; then, how much should the 50 kg.-bag of rice be sold?

    “The smuggled rice that comes into Nigeria is just five per cent of what we consume, and the rice comes in through the informal sector,’’ he said.

    The ABP, which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on Nov. 17, 2015, is aimed at creating linkages between companies involved in rice processing.

  • FG pledges discount to farmers on equipment, feeds acquisition – CBN Boss

    The Federal Government will provide cheap funds and discount of not more than five per cent to farmers who wants to acquire agricultural equipment and feeds.

    The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made this known on Thursday at the official launch of Mitros Ofada Rice in Abeokuta.

    Emefiele said the cheap funds would help conserve foreign exchange as “we will no longer depend on foreign exchange to import agricultural produce.’’

    The apex bank governor, who identified lack of fish feeds as a major setback for fish farmers, also said the Federal Government would offer support to them.

    He commended Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun for the initiatives to create jobs and boost food security.

    “The Central Bank will continue to support anybody who makes an attempt to grow our agricultural sector.

    “ This is because by doing this, we provide food and jobs for our people and in doing this, we grow our economy.

    “Ogun State continues to demonstrate the urge to support the focus of the government to create jobs and grow the economy.

    “ A country that does not take agriculture seriously is naturally an unserious country.

    “We have a lot of people who wants to go into fish farming but the major problem is fish feeds. Be rest assured that if you identify yourself, you will be counted and we’ll support you,” he said.

    Also speaking, Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu, said the Federal Government had been taking steps to revamp the agricultural sector so as to ensure food sufficiency.

    Bagudu, who is the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Agricultural Commodities and Production, said all the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, have the capability to grow rice.

    “With rice, I believe we can achieve what we have achieved, even with a commodity like crude oil because around the world, about 600 million metric tonnes of rice are produced every year, and in Nigeria, we are still having a little less than 10 million.

    “Our land size estimated by the Rice Farmers Association indicated that there are about 12 million rice farmers”.

    “This suggests that even if an average yield per farmer is the modest five tonnes, that means we should be producing 50 million tonnes, not under 10 million tonnes we are currently producing”.

    “ Nigeria has the ability to produce rice competitively,’’ he said.

    Amosun, in his speech, said that the inauguration of mitros rice is an investment in the mission to rebuild the state.

    He said the state had attracted over 70 per cent of industrial investment, adding that his administration would continue to partner with the Federal Government and private sector in boosting food sufficiency in the country.

    The governor added that production of Mitros rice had also helped in creating jobs for farmers in the state.

    “The Mitros ofada rice and other rice that we grow are planted, processed and packaged by farmers from Ogun, ” he said.

    He urged the people of the state to partronise Mitros rice during the festive period instead of foreign rice.

    The newly launched rice comes in 50kg, 25kg,10kg, 5 kg and 1 kg bags.

  • NCC calls for collaboration with CBN, others to fight against e-fraud in Nigeria

    Mr Ubale Maska, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Service, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) on Tuesday called for collaboration with the CBN and other banks to fight electronic banking fraud.

    Maska, who was represented by Mr Fidelix Onah, the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity of the commission made the call at a one day workshop with the theme: “Electronic Banking Fraud in Nigeria- Challenges and Way Forward” in Port Harcourt.

    He said that NCC would collaborate with CBN and other banks to tackle the issue of electronic banking fraud in the country.

    “When banks brought complaints of various electronic fraud on customers’ accounts, then CBN brought the issue up in a meeting with the commission, we saw the need to collaborate with CBN in fighting against electronic fraud by the fraudsters.

    “NCC and CBN agreed together to form a committee that looked into the matter and saw some shortfalls that would be addressed to tackle some challenges that make the consumers to be trapped by the fraudsters.

    “One of the conclusions was to create a consumers awareness campaign to let the public know how to avoid the tricks of these fraudsters,” he said.

    Mr Adewale Banjoko, a Principal Fraud Consultant said that NCC and CBN should have processes and laws to know their workers’ profile to make sure they did not share consumers important information to the fraudsters.

    “There should be thorough check on know your staff as well as know your customers because some fraudsters get their information through some workers in offices and from commissions.

    “There should be serious punishable laws guiding the banks and telecommunications to punish any person who shares consumers’ information to fraudsters.

    “There should be thorough investigations to trace and track fraudsters who are caught in such act,” he said.

    Banjoko said that most frauds were also carried out in business outlets through SIM swaps and SIM registrations by customers who use pictures of different people while registering their SIMs.

    He called on NCC to provide an alternative means for subscribers to report their challenges when they noticed network failure on their mobile phones for days to make sure they tracked any act of fraud on their information.

    Mrs Tosin Kanu, the Head of Operations, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) said that banks needed collaboration from NCC to tackle the issue of SIM swap facing the consumers.

    Kanu said that banks were facing the challenge of customers complain of fraudsters sending massages to their phones on BVN and other massages that made them victims of fraudsters.

    She called on NCC to put in place measures that would help to curb electronic fraud in the country.

     

  • CBN injects $210m into currency market

    The interbank window of the nation’s foreign exchange market on Tuesday received a boost of $210m from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    The interventions were made at the wholesale, the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises, and invisibles segments of the market.

    The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, said the bank offered the sum of $100m to the wholesale segment, while the SMEs and invisibles segments received the sum of $55m each.

    He reiterated that the releases were meant to boost liquidity, trade and ease of remittances for legitimate personal commitments.

    In spite of the stable exchange rate and the expected inflow from various sources such as the Eurobond and remittances from the Diaspora, Okorafor said the bank would continue to intervene in the inter-bank forex market to guarantee liquidity.

    While also noting that the interventions had largely checked unwholesome activities of currency speculators, he said that the CBN would not relent in its daily monitoring of activities in the market in order to ensure that all concerned operate in line with extant rules.

    The naira has maintained a relatively steady rate against major currencies around the globe, exchanging for N363/$1 at the parallel market in the past few months.

  • Reduce lending rate to farmers, Ogbeh begs CBN

    The Minister for Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh has appealed the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce lending rate to agriculture as obtainable in other parts of the world where agriculture is thriving.

    Ogbeh made the appeal at the 2017 Annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat concluded in Lagos at the weekend.

    Ogbeh disclosed that the average interest rate charged on agriculture loans worldwide is 3.5 per cent adding that Nigeria’s nine per cent is fine, but could be lower.

    “We could have it (interest rate) lower because when we meet farmers from Brazil, China, Uruguay, and United States, the average lending rate to agriculture is 3.5 per cent. In some places like Japan, there was a time it was zero. So, we would like to see it lower. If it is lower, it will become more attractive,” Ogbeh said.

    He also said there was need to bring more young people into mechanised farming because the generation of farmers are now 60 years old on the average. “In another two to four years, they cannot do much. If young people do not come on board, with mechanisation and lower interest rate, this country will starve and we do not want that to happen,” he said.

    Also speaking CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said Nigeria’s economy needs to grow by six or seven per cent for it to have greater impact on the lives of the people.

    He spoke on the theme: Improving Financial Access, Job Creation and Inclusive Growth in Nigeria. He said growth must be achieved at six or seven per cent for people to feel the impact and reduce poverty rate.

    Emefiele said that after five quarters of continuous contraction of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), beginning from first quarter of 2016, the economy recorded a positive growth of 1.5 per cent in third quarter of this year, signaling an exit from the recession.

    But he said the growth figure is still low and that higher growth is needed to tackle unemployment, create more jobs and other issues.

    He said creating a more financially inclusive society is seen as the viable path towards sustainable economic growth.

     

  • CBN, NEXIM approve release of N550b loan to non-oil exporters

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) have approved the release of N550 billion loan to non-oil exporters.

    The loan will come at nine per cent interest rate and is expected to help the investors export more commodities, earn more foreign exchange from export proceeds and strengthen the economy.

    Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said N500 billion of the fund is from the Export Stimulation Facility while the balance of N50 billion is provided by the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) Direct Intervention Fund.

    He spoke after a meeting with non-oil exporters, producers and processors in Lagos, Friday night.

    The framework for the disbursement of the fund, he said, would be released in the next one week by NEXIM Bank and the CBN Development Finance Department.

    Emefiele said that exporters will send in their request and when they get the fund, their operations will be monitored to ensure there is no undocumented export.

    He said that funding remains a major problem that every business faces and funding at concessionary pricing will help them carry out more export volumes.

    The CBN boss said that in the last two years, the country’s revenue has dropped significantly prompting the CBN and the Federal Government to consider revenue sources outside crude oil to boost its foreign exchange earnings.

    The scheme will be driven by Produce, Add Value and Export (PAVE) principles. He said the CBN engaged exporters and identified various products in the non-oil sector- cocoa, cashew nuts, palm produce, sesame seeds, solid minerals and rubber to benefit.

    “In order to create jobs for our people, there is a need for us to advance further to value addition and begin to talk about processing of exportable items like rather than export raw cashew, we are thinking of exporting processed cashew. Rather than export raw cocoa, we are thinking of giving support to companies that process cocoa to cocoa butter and cakes and all that,” he said.

    “All transactions that will be done and that will receive funding from the CBN will be for documented export transactions and we are also saying that before those facilities are provided to them, these exporters will commit through their banks.”

  • Abuse naira, spend six months in jail, CBN warns Nigerians

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday warned Nigerians against abusing the naira notes.

    The apex bank said that anyone caught abusing the naira would be prosecuted and if convicted the person risked six months in jail fine of N50, 000.

    An official of the Currency Operation Department of the CBN in Abuja, Mr. Samuel Shuaibu, disclosed this in Calabar, Cross River State, during the commencement of a ‘CBN Fair’ to sensitise campaign for residents in the state on the appropriate use of the naira.

    The fair had the theme: Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development.

    Shuaibu said that the abuse of the naira was not in line with the CBN’s policy, adding that offenders would henceforth be arrested and prosecuted.

    According to him, the awareness programme was aimed at sensitising the public on the need to accord respect to naira, online transfer system, how to identify fake currency notes, how to approach the CBN for complaints amongst others.

    He lamented the fact that Nigerians accord more respects to the American Dollar more than the naira, saying that Nigerians ought to appreciate and value the naira because it serves as a symbol of national identity.

    Shuaibu said, “The naira has suffered abuse from a majority of Nigerians. Today, we find some people spraying the naira in occasions, soiling it, writing on it, squeezing it while others are hawking it.

    “The CBN spent a lot of money in the printing of this naira notes. We urge Nigerians to respect the naira and value it. Anyone caught abusing the naira will risk a jail term of six months or pay a fine of N50, 000.”

    He urged Nigerians to desist from home banking, adding that such money could be gutted by fire outbreak or carted away by criminals.

    Also speaking, the bank’s Head of Development Financial Department, Mr. Chukwudum Nzelu, said the Anchor Borrowers Programme of the apex bank has led to an increase in the local production of rice from 30 to 70 per cent.

    Nzelu added that the CBN was also designing other agricultural programmes that would engage thousands of Nigerians youths in meaningful agricultural ventures that would make them self-reliant.

    In his comment earlier, the Branch Controller of CBN in Calabar, Dr. Graham Kalio, urged the general public to always visit any CBN branches closer to them for verification and complaints.

    Kalio, who said that the money in the CBN was kept in trust for the public for financial purposes, urged the participants to make good use of the programme by enriching themselves with the knowledge of the operation of the CBN.