Blog

approval (1)

Naira Slides while Sanusi New CBN bank chief's reforms win International approval

Posted by 9jabook.com webmadam on July 8, 2009 at 9:44pm
The Central Bank of Nigeria sold $162.2 million at 145.90 naira per dollar at its daily foreign exchange auction on Wednesday, as demand increased sharply to $191.74 million, traders said on Thursday. The regulator had sold $136.12 million at 145.75 … ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's new central bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, won strong approval from foreign investors when he used his first policy meeting to unveil a root-and-branch reform of the country's chaotic banking system. Once a darling of frontier markets, Nigeria's economy -- sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest -- faltered with the sharp decline in oil prices and the global downturn. Regulators have scrambled to defend the local currency and capital markets in Africa's most populous nation. In its first monetary policy meeting under Sanusi, a revitalized central bank (CBN) on Tuesday slashed interest rates by 2 percentage points, lifted foreign exchange controls and guaranteed interbank transactions for the next nine months. "There will be no half-measures when it comes to resolving Nigeria's financial sector problems and supporting growth," said Razia Khan, Standard Chartered's head of Africa research. "The steps taken (on Tuesday), initiated by the new CBN governor who has promised to prioritise the cleanup of the financial sector, are the most promising yet." Markets did not immediately react to the news on Wednesday as traders digested the long list of changes. "Lending rates have not really changed and the interbank rate is still where it was," said Leke Sule, dealer at Fidelity Bank. "We think maybe tomorrow investors will begin to re-price risk, re-assess the yield curve and re-adjust."
Read more…

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Topics by Tags

  • in (506)
  • to (479)
  • of (339)
  • ! (213)
  • as (166)
  • is (157)
  • a (156)

Monthly Archives