Access, Zenith, Other Banks Move to Increase Interest on Savings as CBN Hikes Interest
- Nigerian depositors are expecting their banks to increase interest on savings to cushion the effect of a hike in interest rates by CBN
- CBN raised benchmark interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, to stand at 18.5%
- The bank said the move is to fight increasing inflation in the country and protect depositors’ funds
Following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)'s interest rate hike on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, bank depositors are waiting for commercial banks to increase interest on savings accounts.
The move is necessary to cushion the erosion of savings caused by increasing inflation in the country.
Source: UGC
Inflation pushes interest rate to 18.5%
Vanguard reports that Nigeria’s inflation currently stands at 22.22%, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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The NBS Consumer Price Index is at a two-year high as inflation rose by 6.13% in March 2023, as against the one recorded in the same period of 2022.
CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased the benchmark interest rate for the third time this year by 50 basis points to 18.5% in its recently concluded MPC meeting.
CBN's interest rate hike is expected, experts say
Financial experts have predicted that CBN will raise interest rates following accelerating inflation in the country.
The latest hike in interest rates is the seventh consecutive time the apex bank has increased rates to fight inflation.
Reports say that the CBN cited evidence that raising interest rates was reducing inflation which might have increased to 32%, but for the bank’s intervention.
Access Bank, others send messages to customers on new interest rate on savings following CBN’s hike
Legit.ng reported that Nigerian banks had announced new interest rates on savings accounts.
Following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) hike of the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). One of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, Access Bank, announced in an email to customers that it will reflect the new CBN interest rate on savings accounts "effective immediately."
Also, Zenith Bank, First Bank, FCMB, and Fidelity Bank, among others, announced a new interest rate on savings accounts.
Source: Legit.ng
