Access, Zenith, UBA, Other Banks Borrow N268 Billion From CBN Amid Rumoured Cash Crunch
- Commercial merchant banks in Nigeria increased their borrowing from CBN by 466% in October
- This follows a rise in currency outside the banks, which stood at N2.35 trillion in September
- The apex bank disclosed this in its quarterly bulletin for June 2023, stating that there is enough cash in its vault
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Banks borrowings from the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased yearly by 466% to N268.3 billion from the end of October 2023 to N258.3 billion.
The CBN has two short-term lending windows for banks and merchant banks called SLF and Repurchase (Repo) lending.
Source: Getty Images
Currency outside banks rises
CBN data showed that currency outside banks stood at N2.35 trillion as of September 2023, an increase of 195% since January 2023, when it dropped due to the naira redesign policy of the apex bank.
Currency in circulation declined to N792.18 billion in February 2023 as CBN embarked on redesigning the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
Statistics from CBN showed that banks’ deposits in the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) spiked yearly by 465% to N5.29 trillion as of October 2023 from N935 billion recorded in October 2022.
CBN sells $2.92 billion at NAFEM
CBN’s Forex sales to NAFEM, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and Invisibles dropped every year by 121% to $2.92 billion in the second quarter of 2023 from $3.7 billion in the second quarter of 2022.
The apex bank disclosed this in its quarterly bulletin for June 2023, according to a Vanguard report.
An analysis of Forex sales in the months comprising the second quarter indicates that CBN sold $1.2 billion in April 2023.
Forex sales by CBN declined by 15.8% to $736.98 million and spiked by 27% to $939.39 million in June.
CBN denies cash scarcity
The development comes as the apex bank revealed that it has enough cash in its vault following complaints of cash scarcity by Nigerians.
The bank’s response came as Nigerians said that they were unable to access cash in certain parts of the country.
Isa AbdulMumin, CBN’s director of corporate communications, stated this in a statement issued on Thursday, November 2, 2023.
Legit.ng reported that residents of Kano and Borno complained of scarcity of cash at banks, automated teller machines (ATMs), Points of Sale (POS), and among Bureaux de Change (BDCs).
CBN also advised Nigerians to be reassured despite the standing Supreme Court order for old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes.
CBN crashes dollar, releases $6.7 billion to banks with special instructions on Forex Debts
Legit.ng reported that the volume of dollars traded in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window increased by 23.8% monthly to $2.23 billion in October 2023 from $1.8 billion in September, showing an increase in Forex inflows.
Data shows that weekly transactions in the official NAFEM showed that turnover recorded upswings across the four weeks in October from $326.44 million in the first week of October to $642.89 million in the last week but thawed to $163.04 million in the previous two trading day in October.
FMDQ data shows that the naira fell to N815.23 per dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window at the end of October 2023, from N755.27 per dollar recorded on September 29, 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
