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Nigeria’s central bank to punish banks for rejecting outdated dollar bills

Published

6 months ago

July 3, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a warning to its regulated firms in Nigeria on their continued rejection of older series and lower-value US dollars. Lenders who refused the currencies faced threats from the bank.

This was stated in a June 27 circular that was just posted on the apex bank’s website and was signed by Solaja Olayemi, the acting director of the currency operations department.

The public, Deposit Money Banks, and Bureau De Change operators were all warned not to continue rejecting the older series and smaller denominations of the US dollar in the circular.

The CBN stated that the new circular came about as a result of its consumer market intelligence, which showed that banks and other authorized forex dealers were still refusing to accept older or smaller denominations of dollar bills.

“Kindly be reminded that the Central Bank of Nigeria circular referenced COD/DIR/INT/CIR/001/002 and dated 9th April 2021, which explicitly frowned at this selective acceptance of deposit, is still in force and must be adhered to and complied with by all relevant parties.

“For the avoidance of doubt and further guidance on the circular, the content is hereby reissued as follows for strict compliance: All DMBs /authorized forex dealers should henceforth accept both old series and lower denominations of United States Dollars that are legal tender for deposit from their customers. The CBN will not hesitate to sanction any DMB or authorised forex dealers who refuse to accept old series/lower denominations of US Dollar bills from their customers,” the circular partly read.

Authorized forex dealers were also cautioned in the circular not to tamper with or deface US dollar banknotes because they consistently fail authentication checks when being processed and sorted.

On April 9, 2021, CBN initially sent out the warning in a circular that was signed by Ahmed Umar, the department’s then-director of currency operations.

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

6 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

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Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

6 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.