FOREX: CBN allays fears, assures Customers of Banks’ compliance, others

By Etuka Sunday

Following Monday’s commencement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to sell foreign exchange to customers, for invisibles such as basic travel allowance, PTA, medical and tuition etc, the Bank has assured members of the banking public that the CBN will monitor the commercial banks to ensure they meet the legitimate FX demands of customers.

The CBN also dismissed speculations that it planned to convert the foreign exchange in domiciliary accounts of customers into naira.

Speaking with business correspondents in Abuja on Monday, the Bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, disclosed that the CBN had put in place monitoring mechanism to guarantee the seamless sale of foreign exchange to customers who supported their requests with relevant documentation.

He said the CBN had also extracted the commitment of the banks, through their Chief Executive Officers, that customers with legitimate requests will not be turned back.

Meanwhile, Nwanisobi dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the CBN planned to convert the foreign exchange in the domiciliary accounts of customers into Naira in order to check purported shortage of availability of the United States dollars.

Nwanisobi, while disclosing that the CBN never planned to tamper with the foreign exchange deposits in the accounts of customers, insisted that those making such allegations were criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market.

According to him, at no time did the CBN ever suggest or imply that it would tinker with the foreign exchange deposits of customers.

He therefore urged operators of domiciliary accounts and other members of the banking public to go about their legitimate foreign exchange transactions and disregard fictitious stories aimed at pitching them against the Bank and triggering chaos in the system.

It will be recalled that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at his post Monetary Policy meeting (MPC) briefing on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, disclosed that the CBN would stop the weekly sale of foreign exchange to Bueaux de Change (BDCs) and that deposit money banks would henceforth sell to customers to meet their foreign exchange needs.

Sequel to the instruction, Banks Chief Executives met at the weekend and affirmed their readiness to meet the foreign exchange demands from genuine Foreign Exchange (FX) end-users as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).