The Central Bank of Nigeria’s reforms and policies, according to Olubusayo Adeniyi, the CEO of Cedrus Group, will begin to show results in the second quarter of 2024.
The CEO of Cedrus revealed during a press conference in Lagos that the central bank is striving to guarantee that some financial sector gaps are sealed.
“The problem is that Nigerians are not patient enough. Though that isn’t how things work, we want to see results right away. He predicted that the second quarter or the next two to three months will see the start of results from many of the CBN’s 2023 initiatives.
The investment banker claims that a few agents in the financial industry are taking advantage of these gaps, which is the main cause of the naira’s continuous decline in value on the foreign exchange market.
The official market saw a historic decline in the value of the naira against the dollar on Wednesday, according per statistics from FMDQ Exchange.
The official market ended with the naira ending at 1,482.57 versus the US dollar, indicating how steep the currency’s decline has been.
Deposit Money Banks were instructed by the apex bank in a circular to sell their excess dollar stock by February 1, 2024, at the latest, in an effort to stabilize the country’s unstable exchange rate.
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It is the belief of the financial regulator that certain commercial banks maintain extended foreign exchange positions in order to capitalize on the fluctuations in exchange rates.
As the CBN keeps closing gaps, Adeniyi expressed hope that the value of the naira will increase in the upcoming weeks.
The increase in the currency rate is being caused by select individuals abusing the government’s exposure. We are witnessing changes in banks as a result of the CBN’s mandate to implement policies and reforms aimed at lowering that.
And we will see the naira’s true potential emerge in a few weeks, one that is not influenced by economic factors. Panicking is not warranted in this case. “People should just go about their business; those who are not involved in forex should get out of the dollar,” he continued.
The CEO clarified that a challenge to output across all economic sectors was the main issue, not a shortage of foreign exchange in the financial industry.
“We ought to concentrate on the economic factors. Every economy depends on production; without it, we would undoubtedly be on the receiving end of the consumption curve. Therefore, we ought to concentrate on our production capability. And that’s exactly what I did; I ought to consider what to walk every day.
Increased output translates into increased supply and exports. Then, he added, exports will increase our foreign reserves and cause our local currency to appreciate.
