Monetary Policy Committee Leaves Rate Unchanged at 14%

• Monetary Policy Committee Leaves Rate Unchanged at 14%

The Nigerian monetary policy committee left interest rate unchanged on Tuesday.

The committee led by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Mr Godwin Emefiele left monetary policy rate at 14 percent.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele who announced the committee’s decision at the end of a two-day meeting in Abuja said six out of the eight member committee agreed to maintain current policy stance. While the remaining two voted to adjust monetary policy to better ease economic gridlock.

Also, the committee retained liquidity ratio at 30 percent.

Experts have advised the CBN to lower its monetary policy to better stimulate the economy given the market headwinds.

However, the CBN governor said the high inflation rate and rising operating costs in the banking sector are some key factors for the current monetary policy stance.

“Interest rates reflect not just the cost of capital, but also the cost of doing business, and so, we need to also look at interest rates from the perspective of the lender,” said the Mr Godwin Emefiele.

“Given that most banks have to individually provide security, power and other infrastructure, it is not surprising that some of these costs are passed on to customers in the form of high interest rates,” he added.