Forex sale Under New Policy Most Transparent- CBN
Contrary to allegations of irregularities in the rates at which foreign exchange was obtained by some individuals and companies from different Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the sale of foreign exchange under its new policy is one of the most transparent.
The CBN under the new 60:40 foreign exchange policy prioritises forex sales to manufacturers, agriculture, plant and machinery, critical raw materials, among others.
The apex bank under the new policy had required banks to publish on a weekly basis the volume and value of foreign exchange that they sell, who they sell it to and for what purpose. In a statement issued by the apex bank yesterday, CBN said it has also been publishing the evidence of sale from the banks on a monthly basis asides that published by the banks.
While noting that it recently observed that some DMBs forwarded inaccurate data, which were erroneously published and gave a wrong impression of disparate rates, the apex bank said “the DMBs involved in providing inaccurate data have since been issued queries accordingly. Some have returned a response indicating that some of the figures were related to formatting errors which do not affect the true rates of the affected transactions.”
The release which was signed by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, Isaac Okoroafor stated that the apex bank “neither allocates foreign exchange nor does it deal directly with bank customers.
“The CBN does not fix FOREX rates for transactions by individuals or companies. In line with our principle of transparency, we directed DMBs to forward to us evidence of forex sale to end users and to advertise same in national dailies.
“As the constitutionally authorized industry regulator mandated to manage the forex market, maintain external reserves and to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency, we wish to state unequivocally that the CBN has a duty to perform and would not indulge in acts capable of discrediting the forex market.
“We therefore wish to reiterate that the sale of forex under the new policy is most transparent and is not intended to benefit any individual or corporate body in anyway. While we appreciate the concerns of stakeholders, we urge all concerned to verify information on matters relating to the Bank and use our available channels to lodge their complaints” the statement read.
