The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday sold $85 million to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) for Basic Travel Allowance (BTAs), medicals, school fees and equally offered $100 million to authorized FOREX dealers in the interbank window to meet genuine wholesale demand.
The CBN sold and offered the dollars at N 357/$1 and warned banks and dealers not to sell to retail end-users at rates above N360/$1.
Isaac Okorafor, CBN’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, said the rates in the interbank window for wholesale transactions would still be determined by activities in the interbank market.
In the past five weeks, the CBN has injected dollars, worth well over N1 billion into the foreign exchange market to boost liquidity and help the naira. The new injections confirm CBN’s stance to ensure a convergence of the official and parallel market rates and check arbitrage.
Okorafor reiterated the bank’s earlier directive to banks to immediately post the new N360/$1 rate on electronic display boards in the banking halls of their branches, adding that examiners from the CBN would visit banks to ensure the new rates are implemented.
The CBN spokesmen also reiterated the Bank’s directive to all banks to process and meet the demand for Travel Allowances (PTA/BTA) by end-users within 24 hours of such application, while applications for school fees and medical bills are to be met within 48 hours of such application.
Okorafor warned that the new move, aimed at further easing access of genuine end-users to forex, prohibited banks from selling foreign exchange funds meant for invisibles to Bureau De Change.
Going forward, he reiterated that all banks would receive amounts commensurate with their demand per week, which would be sold to customers who meet usual basic documentary requirements.
He therefore urged customers to report any erring bank to the CBN for investigation and appropriate sanction.
