The Bankers’ Committee has revealed that speculators have started selling hoarded dollars to mitigate impending loss, following the appreciation of the naira against the dollar.
The committee in a statement noted that dollar hoarders “are beginning to bring them out to sell for the simple reason that they may lose as the naira gains strength at the parallel market”.
According to them, “within the first two months, there was pressure on foreign currencies and, as expected, out of desperation, people resorted to going to the black market. This triggered scarcity of Foreign Exchange (forex) resulting to further depreciation of the Naira, to a large extent.”
“As the CBN continues to sell FX to the banks, with increasing inflows of foreign direct investments and FX receipts/transfers from the diaspora, the foreign exchange market will continue to witness less pressure.
“Four months into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) suspension of sales of dollars and other foreign currencies to the Bureau De Change operators (BDCs), the targeted objectives are incrementally being achieved”.
By channeling Forex through Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) for sales to the end-users, the committee said banks are no longer under pressure and they have “set up requisite structures to undertake the additional responsibility occasioned by the new Forex policy”.
According to the committee, “in resolving to sell to the banks, the CBN believed that the banks have more structures and systems in place to ensure compliance to the CBN’s directives given that CBN regulates these banks”.
