CBN Says Currency Outside Banks Now Stands at N1.4 Trillion
- The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that about N1.4 trillion is currently outside the banking system
- The figure represents 66% and is a reflection of the impact of the Supreme Court order regarding the old currency notes
- CBN said the reason for the naira redesign policy was to rein in excess cash outside the banks and control inflation
Currency outside the banking system increased Month-on-Month by 66% to N1.4 trillion in March from N843 billion in February.
The increase shows the impact of the Supreme Court Order that returned the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes into circulation until December 31, 2023.
Source: Getty Images
CBN mopped up N1.81 trillion from outside banking system
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Money and Credit for March 2023, released on Thursday, April 27, 2023, shows that currency in circulation stood at N1.68 trillion, representing a 71% rise from N982 billion in February 2023.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Legit.ng Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
The now botched implementation of the naira redesign policy of the CBN sucked in about N1.81 trillion from outside the bank and crashed currency in circulation to N1.4 trillion in January 2023.
Nigerians returned over close to N2 trillion to the banks in January
Vanguard reports that CBN data for January revealed that Nigerians deposited about N1.81 trillion into the banking system in response to the initial January deadline for depositing the old currency notes.
Due to the then CBN deadline, currency outside banks dropped month on month by 70% to N788.9 billion in January this year from N2.6 trillion in December 2022.
Currency in circulation had dropped month-on-month by 54% to N1.38 trillion in January this year from N3 trillion recorded in December 2022 amid a scarcity of naira notes.
CBN stated that part of the reason for the naira redesign policy was to mop up excess cash outside the banking system and rein inflation.
New naira notes scarcity: CBN may phase out newly redesigned notes, Nigerians say
Legit.ng reported that Nigerians wonder what happened to the newly redesigned naira notes introduced on December 15, 2022.
The scarcity of the new notes at ATMs and across the counter has left many speculating that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may be rethinking its purportedly poorly executed naira redesign policy.
The new notes began to steadily decline in circulation after the apex bank capitulated to a Supreme Court order which rendered the withdrawal of the old notes invalid.
Source: Legit.ng
