Forex

Banks CEOs Declare Readiness, Assured No Hidden Charges In Forex Sale

Published

3 years ago

July 30, 2021

Naira Dollar Exchange Rate - Investors King

Chief executives of banks have assured no hidden charges in the sale of foreign exchange as they declared their readiness to meet the demands of Forex in the country.

The CEOs under the aegis of the Committee of Chief Executives of Banks at a virtual parley with the media also said they are not interested in procuring bureau de change licenses to dispense the new responsibility thrust on them by the central bank of Nigeria (CBN)

At a media briefing chaired by the chairman, and the managing director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, other CEOs in attendance include Segun Agbaje of GTCO, Yemisi Edun of FCMG amongst others.

The briefing was in reaction to the CBN circular with Ref No: BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/14/052 which gave a directive to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to set up teller points at designated branches and sell Foreign Exchange customers in need.

The directive in the circular signed by Haruna Mustafa, Director, Bank Supervision Department, was a follow up to the stoppage by the CBN, of the sale of forex to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country.

With this development, banks are now to attend to legitimate FX requests for Personal Travel Allowance, Business Travel Allowance, tuition fees, medical payments and SMEs transactions, among others.

The regulator also disclosed that a toll-free line had been set up at the CBN for bank customers to escalate unresolved complaints related to their FX requests.

Speaking at the media briefing, Herbert Wigwe assured of the readiness of the banks to meet the demands of the customers without any additional costs, noting that they have more capacity than the BDCs

“Banks have broader network than the previous sources and if you look at the branch network of all the banks in the country, I am not sure that the alternatives have resources like banks to provide this service to everybody”.

He allayed the fear of hidden charges said the transaction comes at no additional cost to the customers.

“There is no one-cent additional charge. It is unfortunate that bankers always come under pressure every time because of accusations of hidden charges. There is no additional charge in this service,” he stated.

Segun Agbaje, the group managing director of GTCO, promised that the banks will provide several channels for the customers to get their supply for their needs as he assured of the readiness of the banking system.

“They can start to come from today. We are ready to fund their demands”. stating that different banks have different strategies to ensure there are no hitches.

He stated that the control is centralised in each bank while the service is decentralised so as to be able to cater to many at the same time.

“We will run a transparent system and the compliance will be very strict because there will be sanctions. Anyone that refuses to comply with the rules will be sanctioned by the regulator and the law enforcement agencies” as he warned those that could want to come with fake documentation or passport to beat the process.

In her contribution, Yemisi Edun of FCMB assured that customers will have the same experience across the board irrespective of the bank as she allayed that the services may be poor in some banks.

“We have done this with remittance where we dedicate desks to attend to customers and customers will be directed to the desks once they have proper documentation.

In conclusion, Wigwe stated that apart from the injection that could be coming from the CBN, the banks also have their sources for foreign exchange which include from International Monetary Transfer Organisation, Diaspora remittances, and others from where they can meet the customer’s demands.

“We are putting structure and infrastructure in place to meet the demands of the customers but they should come with proper documentation” Wigwe stated

The apex bank expects the DMBs to adequately publicize the locations of the designated branches and make necessary arrangements to sell FX to customers in cash and/or electronically in compliance with extant regulations,

While CBN said the banks should ensure that no customer was turned back or refused FX provided that documentation and all other requirements are satisfied, it also outlaws undue delays, rationing and/or diversion of FX while it compels DMBs to establish electronic application and alert systems to update customers on the status of their FX requests, the circular added.

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Naira

Naira Falls to N1,676.90/$1 at Official Market, Slides to N1,708.87/$1 at Alternative Window

Published

3 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira depreciated at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 0.61 percent and sold against the US Dollar at N1,676.90/$1 on Monday, November 4.

At the official market, the domestic currency recorded a N10.18 drop versus N1,666.72/$1, valued at the previous session on Friday.

Equally at the black market, the Naira lost N4.76 against the greenback to close at N1,708.87 to the US Dollar compared to N1,704.11/$1 it closed on Friday.

The outcomes came as the weak supply gripping the marker cross paths with high seasonal demand placing pressure on the local currency.

This occurred as supply dropped further at the session as turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $79.47 million indicating that the session’s turnover fell by 15.7 per cent, indicating that there was a decrease of $14.75 million compared to $94.22 million published the previous day.

With the year coming to a close, there has been a higher demand for FX but with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) limiting interventions, constraints have seen a volatile outcome for the local currency.

Equally, the domestic currency also witnessed losses against the British currency and the Euro in the week’s opening session.

On the Pound Sterling, the local currency made a loss of N3.38 to wrap the session at N2,160.63/£1 from N2,157.25/£1 that it sold at the previous session and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency closed at N1,816.40/€1 versus N1,814.79/€1, indicating an N1.61 depreciation.

The local currency also declined in its value against the British currency in the black market as it dropped by N9.63 to sell at N2,217.39/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,207.76/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it depreciated N10.73 to quote at N1,862.98/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,852.25/€1.

The Naira, however, had a different trend against the Canadian Dollar as it appreciated by N1.66 to close at N1,222.33 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Friday’s N1,223.99 per CAD.

CBN’s limited capacity to sufficiently intervene across the market segments and suboptimal inflows from Foreign Portfolio Investors will continue to impact the trajectory of the local currency in coming weeks, analysts said.

Measures that don’t translate to more injection of FX into the pressured market will only provide temporary reprieve, they added.

Meanwhile, the CBN will soon begin to test run its automated FX platform to increase market confidence and reduce speculative trading.

Naira

Naira Appreciates to N1,666 Per Dollar at FX Market, N1,704.11 at Parallel Market

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira appreciated by 0.5 percent against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday following an N8.77 rise to close at N1,666.72/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing rate of N1,675.49/$1 despite worsening supply in the market.

The daily supply of FX as measured by secondary data from FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited indicated that turnover fell by $72.41 million or 43.5 per cent to $94.20 million from $166.61 million.

However, the local currency slid on the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the final session. For the British currency, the local currency depreciated by N10.10 and closed at N2,157.25/£1 from N2,147.15/£1 while it closed at the rate of N1,814.79/€1, a slump of N23.43 against N1,791.36/€1 against the Euro.

Meanwhile, the Naira rose further by N7.66 against the American in the parallel market segment to close at N1,704.11 to the US Dollar compared to N1,711.77/$1 it closed on Thursday.

Also, the domestic currency extended its gain against the British currency during the final session as the Naira made a further appreciation of N16 to trade at N2,207.76/£1 from N2,223.76/£1 that it sold at the previous session and against the Euro, it appreciated N14.82 to close at N1,852.25/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,867.07/€1.

The local currency gained a marginal N1.62 to close at N1,233.99 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Thursday’s N1,235.61 per CAD.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the recently concluded World Bank/IMF meetings held in Washington, DC last week said the foreign exchange market will not depend on the apex bank’s intervention for supply and stability.

This is evidenced by the stop of sales of Dollars to the market as it plans to improve supply organically without its intervention from time to time while maintaining balance in the market.

“While you might see us intervene from time to time, we are trying to ensure the market is not dependent on the intervention of the central bank.

“I think that we are looking at conditions that market return as much as possible to improve supply organically without the Central Bank having to put in money all the time,” the CBN deputy governor on economic policy, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, disclosed.

Naira

Naira Loses 2.7% on Dollar at NAFEX, Gains N6 to N1,711/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

4 days ago

November 1, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira fell by 2.7 percent on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to exchange at N1,675.49/$1 on Thursday, October 311 as the local currency depreciated despite a slight increase in supply.

In the official market, the domestic currency lost N44.32 on the American currency in the official market versus N1,631.17/$1, which it closed in the previous session on Wednesday.

In a turn of fortune, the Naira rose N6.66 against the greenback in the parallel market segment to close at N1,711.77 to the US Dollar compared to N1,718.43/$1 it closed on Wednesday.

Data showed a rise in supply as the turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $166.61 million indicating that the session’s turnover jumped by 29.2 per cent, indicating a rise of $37.63 million compared to $128.98 million that was published in the last trading session.

Equally, the Naira weakened its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N3.75 to sell at N2,147.15/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,143.40/£1.

It followed the same path against the Euro, depreciating N9.29 to quote at N1,791.36/€1 versus midweek’s closing rate of N1,782.07/€1.

In a different outcome in the black market, the domestic currency headed up against the British currency during the Thursday session as the Naira made an appreciation of N10.86 to wrap the session at N2,223.76/£1 from N2,234.62/£1 that it sold at the previous session.

However, the Naira followed a different pattern against the Euro as it depreciated N12.51 to close at N1,867.07/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,854.56/€1.

The local currency gained a marginal 9 Kobo to close at N1,235.61 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Wednesday’s N1,235.70 per CAD.

Investors King reports that the Nigerian macro environment is placing pressure on the FX market with latest data showing that there is a high money supply in the system complemented by a wider government budget deficit.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that Nigeria’s money supply often known as M3 grew 62.8 percent in the last one year to N109 trillion from N66.9 trillion in September 2023.