In celebration of one year in office, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under the leadership of Olayemi Cardoso, has recorded another milestone with an over $40 billion increase in Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.
The announcement of the increase was made on Thursday by Cardoso during a symposium in Abuja titled Promoting Stability in an Era of Economic Reforms: The Journey So Far.
It was noted that the increase followed a policy of reform implemented by the administration of Cardoso as the CBN Governor to address Nigeria’s decade-long challenges with declining foreign direct investment and portfolio investments.
It was gathered that, to further strengthen the nation’s economy, the CBN increased monthly foreign remittances to $1 billion by establishing new operational guidelines for Bureau de Change operators.
“According to Governor Cardoso, the reforms have started to yield positive results, including marked improvements in the FX market and a stabilization of foreign reserves, which have now surpassed the $40 billion mark, the highest in 33 months,” the statement read.
“While noting that inflation remains elevated, he said it is on a downward trend, signaling that the reforms are taking hold in restoring market equilibrium and fostering growth,” the statement added.
Additionally, the CBN had raised the Monetary Policy Rate by 850 basis points to 27.25% and also increased the Cash Reserve Ratio for commercial banks to 50%.
It was gathered that the previous administration had created arbitrage opportunities and discouraged foreign investment.
In a way to correct these issues, the present administration has streamlined Nigeria’s foreign exchange system and eliminated multiple exchange rates to reduce delays in foreign exchange settlements and prevent revenue losses that had reached 6.2 trillion Naira in 2022.