• Bank Adopts Inflation Targeting, Says It Meets MPC Meeting Requirement
• Discontinues Intervention Programme, To Continue With Core Mandates

Commercial banks in the country may be required to increase their capitalisation in coming months.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, hinted at this last night at the 58th Annual Bankers Dinner in Lagos.

Cardoso highlighted the economic agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, including raising the output level to $1 trillion, saying there is doubt Nigerian banks have the adequate capital requirements to fund such economy.

“It is crucial to evaluate the sufficiency of the banks,” he said, noting that the CBN will be directing banks to increase their capital base.

He added: “It is not just about the stability of the financial system in the present moment, as we have already established that the current assessment shows stability. However, we need to ask ourselves: Will Nigerian banks have sufficient capital relative to the financial system’s needs in servicing a $1.0 trillion economy in the near future? In my opinion, the answer is “No!” unless we take action. Therefore, we must make difficult decisions regarding capital adequacy. As a first step, we will be directing banks to increase their capital.”

In their present form, he said, the banks have passed stress test. He, however, balked at the strength of the banks to fund the economy of the near future.

On the controversial Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which the bank missed twice in a row, Cardoso said the apex bank has met the statutory requirement, which stipulates four minimum meetings per year.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 requires that the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank holds at least four times a year, and the Bank has satisfied this requirement for 2023. Our focus has been on ensuring these meetings are useful and effective,” he said.

He admitted that there is a dislocation of monetary policy transmission in recent times, which has made monetary policy less effective. Hence, the bank has approved explicit inflation targeting as supposed to money base control to keep inflation at check.

According to him, details of the inflation-targeting framework are being firmed up with the fiscal authority.

He assured that the banks would continue to work towards achieving price stability to save the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians.

For the first time, Cardoso opened up on the events that led to his appointment, saying the CBN has suffered huge credibility loss. Going forward, he noted, the bank has discontinued all forms of intervention, which has pumped about N10 trillion into the economy in recent years.

Instead of direct intervention, he said, the bank would collaborate with key stakeholders to support growth, including promoting specialised institutions.

He spoke about the foreign exchange backlog payment, saying tranches have been paid to 31 banks. He assured that payment would continue till all obligations are met.

Central banks are lenders of last resort, he stressed, promising to stand by that irrevocably.

He added that the bank would stand by Nigerians in all its dealings and policy actions.

On why the 43 hitherto FX blacklisted products were listed, he noted that government had no time banned the items.

The governor spoke passionately about the new CBN, saying he would do everything humanly possible to redeem the institution and steer it from the course of controversies. For him, the efforts of the past few months have begun to yield results, which the system would continue to consolidate.

He said: “I am happy to report that our efforts over the past two months have begun to yield fruit. The activities include the following Regular Open Market Operations (OMO) to mop up excess liquidity from the banking system. An OMO auction was recently held with a stop rate of 17.5 per cent or the one-year tenor, attracting oversubscription of N350 billion. Another round of OMO has been approved to further reduce excess liquidity.

“Offering N108.1 billion worth of Treasury Bills with three tenors to the investing public, which can help reduce liquidity in the banking system and support government fundraising.

“Removal of the cap on the remunerable Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) to increase activity in the SDF window and manage liquidity. Sustained Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) debits, which have moderated liquidity in September and October 2023. Liquidity in the entire banking sector has been significantly reduced to under N100 billion in November.

“Inauguration of a new liquidity management committee within the Bank that meets daily at 8am to assess liquidity conditions and ensure optimal levels.”

He disclosed that the fiscal and monetary authorities are working on some initiatives to stabilise the economy and support critical sectors.

Rather than direct interventions, he said, the regulatory bank would work with key stakeholders to support the economy. Low interest, inflation and stable exchange rate, he stated, remained the bank’s key focus as it has resolved to concentrate on its key mandate unlike previously when it dabbled into quasi-fiscal responsibilities where it had no competence.