Finance

CBN to Make Forex Available for PTA, School Fees, Others

Published

8 years ago

February 21, 2017

CBN to Make Forex Available for PTA, School Fees, Others

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday modified its foreign exchange policy with the reduction of the tenor of its forward sales from the current maximum cycle of 180 days to 60 days from the date of transaction.

For business and personal travel allowances, the CBN said it would ease the difficulties encountered by Nigerians in obtaining forex for these types of transactions.

To achieve this, it said in a statement issued by its Acting Director of Communications, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, that it would provide direct additional funding to banks to meet the needs of Nigerians for personal and business travels, medical needs and school fees, effective immediately.

The CBN said it expected such retail transactions to be settled at a rate not exceeding 20 per cent above the interbank market rate.

It said, “Having cleared the historic backlog of matured letters of credit at the inception of the current flexible exchange rate system, the CBN will immediately begin to provide foreign exchange to all commercial banks to meet the needs of both personal travel allowances and business travel allowances for onward sale to customers.

“All banks will receive amounts commensurate with their demand per week, which will be sold to customers who meet usual basic documentary requirements.

“Similarly, the CBN will meet the needs of parents, guardians and sponsors who are seeking to make payments of school and educational fees for their children and wards. Such payments must be made by commercial banks directly to the institution specified by the customer.”

The CBN added that it would ensure that the process was smooth, noting that customers in need of forex would get the foreign exchange they genuinely demanded.

It said the decision was part of efforts to further increase the availability of foreign exchange to all end-users.

In a bid to ease the burden of travellers and ensure that transactions are settled at much more competitive exchange rates, the CBN directed all banks to open forex retail outlets at major airports across the country as soon as logistics permit.

The statement read in part, “In order to further increase the availability of foreign exchange to all end-users, the CBN has decided to significantly reduce the tenor of its forward sales from the current maximum cycle of 180 days to no more than 60 days from the date of transaction.

“In order to further ease the burden of travellers and ensure that transactions are settled at much more competitive exchange rates, the CBN hereby directs all banks to open FX retail outlets at major airports as soon as logistics permit.”

In a bid to increase the efficiency of the forex market and maintain its confidence, the CBN said it would immediately begin the implementation of an articulated programme to clear all the unfilled orders in the interbank forex market.

“Given our plan to meet all unfilled orders, and while provision of forex to the manufacturing sector would remain the CBN’s strong priority, we will no longer impose allocation/utilisation rules on commercial banks,” it added.

The statement noted that the CBN would implement an effective intervention programme to support the inter-bank market to ensure adequate liquidity necessary to deliver an efficient forex market.

The apex bank also advised the Financial Market Dealers Exchange to activate its forex order-book systems as soon as possible and also accelerate the on-boarding of forex clients on the forex relationship systems to ensure total transparency of the market.

The statement added, “Given the CBN’s objective to continuously and vigorously pursue a transparent, liquid and efficient foreign exchange market, the bank reiterates it would neither tolerate unscrupulous actions nor hesitate to bring serious sanctions on offenders, be they banks or their staff.

“The bank, therefore, encourages market participants to assist in ensuring that these new measures engender the preservation of our external reserves, stability of our financial system, and growth of our economy to the benefit of all Nigerians.”

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Banking Sector

Zenith Bank Commends Customers After Successfully Unveiling Upgraded Enhanced Tech infrastructure

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Zenith Bank Plc has announced that it now boasts the best technology infrastructure in the banking industry, positioning itself to provide an exceptional customer experience and superior service delivery moving forward. This upgrade follows a recent comprehensive technology enhancement.

The bank expressed its heartfelt gratitude to customers for their support and patience throughout the upgrade process, while also extending apologies for any inconveniences experienced during this time.

This announcement was made in a social media post on Wednesday, signed by Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, the Group Managing Director/CEO.

In her message, the GMD/CEO emphasized the bank’s commitment to delivering an unparalleled service experience, stating, “We undertook this upgrade to ensure we can offer our customers the best possible service.”

Umeoji pledged that Zenith Bank will continue to innovate, ensuring that customer needs are met swiftly, safely, and conveniently.

The post read in part: “On behalf of the Board, Management, and Staff of Zenith Bank PLC, I would like to thank you for your patience and support during our IT infrastructure migration to a new and more robust operating system.

“We are truly grateful for the trust and confidence you have placed in us. The primary reason for undertaking this extensive endeavor was to better position Zenith Bank PLC for improved service delivery to all our valued customers and to create memorable banking experiences at all our touchpoints.

“While I regret the inconveniences and challenges you faced during and immediately after our migration, I am pleased to inform you that Zenith Bank PLC now has the best technology infrastructure in the industry. We are committed to ensuring you experience superior service delivery going forward.

“Rest assured, you remain our top priority, and Zenith Bank will continue to innovate and offer value-added products and services to meet all your banking needs quickly, safely, and conveniently.”

Finance

President Tinubu Orders Release of Minors Prosecuted for #BadGovernance Protests

Published

3 days ago

November 5, 2024

Yetunde Olugbenga

Following a recent viral video on the X app regarding the prosecution of minors who protested during the #BadGovernance movement, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of all prosecuted minors.

This was announced by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement to the State House Correspondents in Abuja.

In a show of concern over the detention of minors, President Tinubu directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to investigate and ensure that the law is fully applied to law enforcement agents involved in the unlawful act.

It was noted that the arrests violated human rights and the Child Rights Act, as the 32 detainees are under 18 years old.

Activist organizations, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), and Concerned Parents and Educators (CPE), condemned the actions and denounced the treason charges filed against the detained minors.

In a call to action, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the president to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to immediately and unconditionally release all protesters arrested during the #EndBadGovernance movement.

SERAP stated, “The immediate and unconditional release of all #EndBadGovernance protesters, including 32 hungry and malnourished children, is necessary.”

According to SERAP, for the peaceful exercise of fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly, and association without fear of persecution or undue restriction, all detained protesters should be released.

In response to the president’s directive, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, commented that his office “will need to review the matter to enable me to make an informed decision.”

Banking Sector

FBN Holdings To Invest N103.1bn In Corporate, Retail Businesses

Published

4 days ago

November 4, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

As part of means of actualizing its expectation of raising N150 billion from its existing shareholders by way of rights issue, the management of FBN Holdings said it has budgeted an estimated N103.1 billion for its corporate business and retail business lending segments of the market.

The Holdings recently held the signing ceremony to begin the rights issue offering of 5,982,548,799 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N25.00 per share to its existing shareholder on the basis of one new ordinary share for every six ordinary shares held as of October 18, 2024.

Extracts from the offer raising prospectus of the financial institution revealed that lending to the corporate business segment gets N77.34 billion, while lending to the retail business segment gets a budget of N25.78 billion.

This covers 68.95 per cent of the N150 billion proposed rights issue the management seeks to raise from existing shareholders.

Out of the N150 billion, a total of N29.46 billion was budgeted to support international business expansion and N14.73 billion for investment in automation and digital banking.

According to the financial institution, seamless and convenient banking experience for its customers would be guaranteed through its significant investment in automation and digital banking.

Through its mobile banking app, FirstMobile, and its internet banking platform, FirstOnline, the management of FBN Holdings said it has effectively acquired a broad cross-section of the target demography, with a clear proposition of owning bank accounts and utilising various financial services from the comfort of their locations.

It added that the bank plans to upgrade the FirstMobile and FirstOnline apps with additional features while driving customer adoption of the platforms, noting that the development is in line with First Bank’s commitment to providing customers with the best-in-class electronic banking experience.

The offer, however, is part of the company’s plan to recapitalise its commercial banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, with a view to increasing the bank’s capacity for business development and growth.

Chairman, FBN Holdings, Olufemi Otedola in a statement from the document urged shareholders to support the Rights issue by accepting their rights, stating that the company will be well positioned to achieve its strategic objectives and to deliver improved returns to all stakeholders.