IMF Disagrees With CBN, Projects N4.26 Trillion as Currency Outside Banks

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made a projection about currency outside banks in Nigeria
• The IMF said that cash outside banks in the country would hit N4.26 trillion in 2023
• IMF’s projection comes as the CBN declared that the money in circulation declined to N788.92 billion in January 2023

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the money outside banks in Nigeria would hit N4.26 trillion in 2023 amid the currency redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In its report, the IMF said there would be an increase in the volume of banknotes outside banks despite CBN’s bold effort to rein in more cash into the banking system and out of the pockets of Nigerians.

IMF projection contradicts CBN's projection

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IMF stated that money outside the banking system would increase from N2.94 trillion in 2021 to N7.66 trillion by 2027.

Its analysts have projected that money outside banks would hit N3.54 trillion in 2022, N5.1 trillion, N6.08 trillion in 2025, and N6.99 in 2027.

The Punch reports that the CBN had said currency outside banks went down to N788.92 billion in January 2023, the latest data from the bank’s Money and Credit Statistics on its website said.

CBN says there is a decline of currency in circulation

Other data say there was a decline of 69.26 per cent between December 2022 and January 2023.

Per the data, the currency in circulation was at N1.39 trillion in January from N3.01 trillion in December, indicating a difference of N1.62 trillion or a 53.82 per cent decline.

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Nigeria has battled a cash crisis resulting from CBN’s naira redesign policy announced in October last year.

How to track deposit of old naira notes on CBN portal as bank workers deny shut down report

Leit.ng earlier reported that The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched a portal for depositing old naira notes in respective commercial banks or CBN branches.

The apex bank stated that Nigerians could still redeem their old naira notes at CBN branches nationwide. Still, it later simplified the process by the launch of the portal for seamless deposits and tracking.

Depositors can track the status of their old naira note deposits after submitting them to their banks or CBN branches via the deposit tracking system.

Source: Legit.ng