By Isaac Anumihe
against the backdrop of the ban of nine banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from accessing foreign exchange in interbank market, the Body of Bank Chief Executives yesterday stepped into the fray with a view to resolving the forex controversy with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CEOs had resolved at their meeting to address the issues in a manner that will protect the stability of the industry, as well as ensure proper conduct in the optimisation of the foreign exchange market
The body, formed under the auspices of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), comprising key operators in the banking industry, stressed that as professionals who understand what was at stake, it would work towards ensuring that the concerned banks complied with the directive of the apex bank as soon as possible to avoid negative impact on the economy.
While clarifying that there was no concealment of the exposure in any form as the banks had always disclosed the fund in their returns, the meeting which held in Lagos, noted that the situation arose out of the maturity mismatch of funds found in certain strategic sectors to ensure the growth of the economy.
The consensus in the meeting was that there is no crisis in the industry as it remains strong and stable.
The bank chief executives also resolved to continue to collaborate with the CBN and other stakeholders to forestall this and other issues that may impact on the growth of the banking industry.
Meanwhile, the naira took its deepest daily interbank dip yesterday, falling by about nine per cent in less than 24 hours to trade at N342 to the dollar – its biggest daily slip since the inception of the new forex regime.
The naira, which closed at N318.25 to a single dollar on Wednesday, opened weak yesterday, as fewer banks were allowed to trade on the official and non-official side of the foreign exchange market.
The local currency remains relatively stable at the parallel market, where it is trading between N402 to N405 to the greenback – near its closing price on Wednesday.
According to Reuters, the naira traded at an interbank all-time low of N365.25/$1 on August 18, from N350.91 on August 17, its lowest points till date.
Recall that on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) barred nine banks from the foreign exchange market, on allegations that they were aiding the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in hiding over $2.1 billion from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
United Bank for Africa (UBA) was however readmitted into the forex market on Wednesday, after submitting that it had returned all the monies in its coffers, belonging to the NNPC, back to the TSA.