CBN Boosts Forex Market With Fresh $210m

• CBN Boosts Forex Market With Fresh $210m

The Central Bank of Nigeria has injected another sum of $210m into the interbank foreign exchange market.

The CBN said the new supply was part of efforts to ensure liquidity in the forex market in order to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the market.

According to a statement, the apex bank offered $100m to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market, while the Small and Medium Enterprises segment received the sum of $55m.

It said customers requiring forex for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and basic travel allowance were also allocated the sum of $55m.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, reassured the public that the bank would continue to intervene in the interbank forex market in line with its quest to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.

Last Friday, the CBN intervened to the tune of $318.73m to cater for requests in the retail segment of the forex market.

The naira continued its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360 to the dollar in the BDC segment of the market on Tuesday, and stood at 305.750/$ in the official market.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company has said it is seeking approval from its members to triple the size of its debt programme to N440bn by the end of the month.

The state-backed mortgage agency said on Monday that Nigeria set up a mortgage-backed guarantee company in 2014, partly with World Bank aid, in an effort to boost lending through the creation of a secondary housing market, which it described as virtually non-existent in the country.

The NMRC, in a notice to members, said the notes could be issued through non-convertible loans and bonds, either through public offering, private placement or a book-building process, according to Reuters.