cbn Archives - Inside Business Africa

Feb62021 by Afam O-SNo Comments

CBN halts Cryptocurrency Transactions by Nigerian Banks

Business, News

Nigeria's apex banking regulatory body, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in a circular dated 5th February 2021, warned financial institutions in the country to stop all transactions involving cryptocurrency. As a result, all banks, trading institutions and related entities are now prevented from attending to transfers, trade or exchanges involving cryptocurrency and are mandated to close all accounts related to crypto transactions. However this is not the first time the CBN has placed restrictions on bitcoin trade, in 2007 , the Central Bank of Nigeria “officially outlawed digital currencies.” citing reasons like money laundering and terror financing to prohibit banks to use, hold or transact virtual currencies, and they should ensure “existing customers that are virtual cur...

Jan252021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

As CBN battles non-conformist diaspora remittance market

Finance

Despite efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stimulate activities in the formal channels of diaspora remittances, the window has continued to battle with its historical challenges, including rising competition with informal windows, poor regulatory compliance by the international money transfer operators (IMTOs), high charges and underhand dealing of agent banks. Following the growing pressure on the naira last year, the apex bank retooled the regulatory framework with a focus on “improving remittance inflows into Nigeria”. In a meeting with IMTOs and money deposit banks (MDBs), the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, stressed: “Diaspora remittances through International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) shall henceforth receive such inflows in foreign currency through the d...

Jan152021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

CBN issues new guidelines on e-payment, fintech development

Business

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued fresh guidelines aimed at strengthening the payment system and development of other disruptive technologies relating to financial services. The regulatory frameworks are contained in two separate documents issued by the apex banks. The documents are created to address challenges in regulatory sandbox and quick response (QR) code payment operations in the country. “In furtherance of its mandates to, ensure the safety and stability of the Nigerian financial system, promote the use and adoption of electronic payments and foster innovation in the payments system, the Central Bank of Nigeria hereby issues the framework for QR code payments in Nigeria,” the CBN said in one of the documents that detailed the operational relationships among issuers,...

Jan62021 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Power ‘stressing out’ under unsustainable cash flow challenge

Power

Despite the intervention of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to address the liquidity crisis rocking Nigeria’s electricity market, the sector continues to struggle under heavy debt. Being the revenue collectors in the market, NERC had, last year, set a minimum market remittance threshold payable by the 11 power distribution companies operating across the country. NERC mandated the DisCos to make 100 per cent remittances to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)’s Market Operator (MO), repay loans to CBN and remit some percentage to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) monthly. CBN also directed money deposit banks to take charge of the collection of electricity bill payments. The move, which, reportedly would en...

Dec172020 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

CBN Boosts Poultry Industry with Disbursement of N12.55bn Credit

Agriculture

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has so far released N12.55 billion to support the small, medium and large scale poultry farmers. The CBN explained that the gesture is part of its strategy to boost egg and meat production as well as to create more jobs for Nigerians. Last month, some stakeholders under the umbrella of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) had called on the federal government to intervene in the sector to mitigate the losses occasioned by the restriction of movement of goods and services amidst the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant lockdown. President of the association, Mr. Ezekiel Ibrahim, while addressing journalists had raised concerns that unless there was an urgent government intervention, the industry might be forced to shut down by January. ...

Dec42020 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

CBN expects $2bn diaspora remittances monthly, says Emefiele

Finance

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Thursday, said the target of the CBN is for the country to attract about $2bn monthly as remittances from citizens in diaspora. Emefiele’s position is coming after the apex bank introduced its new Diaspora Foreign Exchange Remittances Policy. The CBN boss told journalists during a press briefing on the new policy in Abuja that countries that had similar demographic features with Nigeria, such as Pakistan, often received about $2bn monthly from their citizens in diaspora. He said, “I’m aware from the data available that, for instance, Pakistan, even in the midst of COVID-19 receives $2bn monthly from flows from Pakistani in diaspora. “If Nigeria is able to receive even if it is just $1bn monthly or moving close to ...

Nov172020 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Amended BOFIA: The birth of ‘unquestionable’ regulator

Business

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been taunted as a super-regulator. This is not only for the autonomy it derives from its enabling law but also because it can bite at will and get away with it. In 2009, when the apex bank, under the leadership of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sacked the managements of defunct Intercontinental, Oceanic and seven others banks, shattered their owners and took over the institutions in what was termed the ‘Sanusi Tsunami’, individuals and groups went to court in droves. But the litigations made no difference as the banks, except one, were subsequently nationalised and sold under a state cover. Of late, the CBN has been accused of arbitrarily freezing the bank accounts of individuals. First, it was 38 accounts of individuals it accused of being involved i...

Oct152020 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Jaiz Bank appoints new directors

Appointments

The appointments have been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria and forwarded to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Mrs. Aisha Waziri Umar and Dr. Abdullateef Bello are appointed independent non-executive directors, with effect from October 1, 202 while Dr. Sirajo Salisu is appointed as an executive director with effect from January 1, 2021. Umar is a Legal Practitioner and Notary Public with over 23 year-experience across multiple sectors including law, banking, finance, public sector policy and administration. She is the founder of Inara Foundation, a non-governmental organization, assisting victims of violence in the northeast of Nigeria. Bello has M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford (U.K). He was the recipient of the prestigious Rhodes scholarship,...

Oct132020 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

Raise banks’ liquidity ratio to discourage foreign currency holding, ABCON charges CBN

Business

• Warns against pegging interest rates to avoid faulty system • Says increasing retirement age would aggravate youth unemployment The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider raising the liquidity ratio of banks, to discourage foreign currency holding. According to the Association, this would increase the availability of forex especially for the purpose of increasing liquidity at the official retail segment where BDCs operate. In its Quarterly Economic Review report for the Third Quarter of the year (Q3’2020), the Association warned CBN against pegging interest rates and other variables, saying it could lead to a faulty system. The Association charged the monetary authority to interven...

Sep172020 by Joshua OlotuNo Comments

‘SEC will regulate crypto-token that qualifies as securities transactions’

Finance

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a legal framework that will regulate Crypto-token or crypto-coin investments when the character of the investments qualifies as securities transactions. According to SEC, the proposed regulation was aimed at promoting market efficiency and transparency and not impede the nascent technology. The apex capital market regulator insisted that virtual crypto assets are securities unless proven otherwise, noting that the burden of proving that crypto assets proposed to be offered are not securities, and therefore not under the jurisdiction of the SEC, is placed on the issuer or sponsor of the said assets. It stated that issuers or sponsors are expected to satisfy the burden of proving that the virtual assets do not constitute s...