The Central Bank of Nigeria has assured members of the public that it has implemented monitoring mechanisms to ensure that deposit money banks fulfill the legitimate foreign exchange demands of customers.
This follows the apex bank’s directive to commercial banks to commence the sale of forex to customers for invisibles such as basic travel allowance, personal travel allowance and medical and tuition fees.
The assurance was given by the apex bank’s acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, on Monday in a statement issued by the bank.
Speaking with business correspondents in Abuja on Monday, Nwanisobi disclosed that the CBN had put in place monitoring mechanism to guarantee the seamless sale of forex to customers who supported their requests with relevant documentation.
He added that the CBN had received the commitment of the banks, through their chief executive officers, that customers with legitimate requests would not be turned back.
He dismissed rumours making the rounds that the CBN planned to convert the forex in the domiciliary accounts of customers into naira to check purported shortage of availability of dollars.
No Plan to Convert Bank Customers’ Foreign Currency into Naira
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday dispelled speculations that it was planning to convert the foreign exchange (FX) in domiciliary accounts of bank customers into naira.
The bank further assured members of the public that it would monitor the commercial banks to ensure they meet the legitimate FX demands of customers. The bank’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the central bank planned to convert FX in the domiciliary accounts of customers into naira in order to check purported shortage of availability of the dollars.
He stressed that the CBN never planned to tamper with the FX deposits in the accounts of customers, adding that those making such allegations were criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market.
The CBN director insisted that at no time did the bank ever suggested or implied that it would tinker with the FX deposits of customers. He therefore, urged operators of domiciliary accounts and other members of the banking public to go about their legitimate FX transactions and disregard fictitious stories aimed at pitching them against the bank and triggering chaos in the system.
