…As CBN intervenes with $100m
By Chinenye Anuforo
A window of opportunity for Nigerians to harness the huge benefits derivable from retail bonds will unlock on Monday, March 13, 2017, when subscription for the Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bond (FGNSB) opens. The offer will run for five days, with subscription forms available through Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited and in all branches of Stanbic IBTC Bank across the country.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the retail savings bond product will be accessible to all income groups for subscription at N5,000 per unit, with a maximum subscription of N50 million and a tenor ranging from two to three years.
Speaking during the recent listing of the $1 billion FGN eurobond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Director General, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, had hinted the market of the government’s plan to democratise the bond market by making it easily accessible to most Nigerians. He said by promoting retail participation in the bond market, the goal of encouraging an all-inclusive participation in investments and driving financial inclusion in the country will be further enhanced.
Meanwhile, in a bid to sustain the tempo of foreign exchange supply to the interbank forex market and ensure liquidity, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday, March 9, 2017, offered the sum of $100,000,000 as wholesale interventions, just as it sold about $70,000,000 to meet requests for Business/Personal Travel Allowances.
Disclosing this to newsmen yesterday, the CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said the bank remained resolute in ensuring that it supplies enough forex to genuine customers of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and increase liquidity in the market.
According to him, the uniqueness of the wholesale forwards was that banks are allowed to use their winnings from auctions to fund matured obligations to meet Letters of Credit remittances, extinguish bills for collection and other forex demands.
Among its many benefits, FGNSB would provide opportunity to all citizens, irrespective of income level, to contribute to national development, deepen the national savings culture, enable all citizens participate in and benefit from the favourable returns available in the capital market as well as diversify investment options for people and funding sources for the government.
Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, Mrs. Titi Ogungbesan, stated that subscription for the bond can be made through Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, as the sole government stockbroker to the Federal Government bond; distribution and receiving agent for the retail savings bond. This means that both current and prospective clients can access the product at any Stanbic IBTC Bank branch nationwide to subscribe to the auction or submit their completed forms.
“Stanbic IBTC would continue to partner with government and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable economic development, including the deepening of the Nigerian capital market,” Ogungbesan said.
The positioning and transformation of Nigeria’s bond market into a vibrant investment window, she added, requires the collaboration of all stakeholders and reiterated the organisation’s commitment to facilitate stability and growth of the Nigerian capital market via confidence-building initiatives and leveraging investment opportunities in the market.
She recalled that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited was appointed stockbroker to the Federal Government on FGN Bonds as well as primary market maker by the NSE, in a clear affirmation of the company’s ability to deliver on its mandates as well as the Stanbic IBTC Group’s overall leadership in the various market segments.