CBN cuts overseas withdrawal limit on Naira Debit Cards from $150,000 to $50,000

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday announced the reduction of the usage of naira debit cards for transactions overseas from $150,000 to $50,000 per person, per annum.

The reduction was announced by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, Mr. Olakanni Gbadamosi via a circular titled “Usage of Naira Denominated Cards Overseas.

The circular stated:

“All authorised dealers and the general public are hereby informed that with effect from the date of this circular (13th April 2015) the existing limit on the usage of the naira denominated cards for transactions overseas has been reviewed downward. 

Accordingly, the limit has been reduced from $150,000 to $50,000 per person, per annum. In addition, authorised dealers are to ensure that the daily cash withdrawal limit embedded in the cards per person, per day is pegged at $300. Authorised dealers are to ensure strict compliance with this new limit and render monthly returns of the transactions.”

The decision to reduce the limit was taken at the meeting of the Bankers Committee held last week.

Speaking at a press briefing after the Bankers Committee meeting, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Union Bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa, said:

“We realise that people were using the cards in a manner they were not expected to use them. There were some arbitrage going on, and in order to continue to support the stability in the foreign exchange market. 

So it was agreed at the committee that the limit would be reduced for the use of the naira debit cards. You will still have, as a customer, unfettered access to your dollar account (cards) but for the naira cards, the limit will be reduced to a judicious level.”

The circular did not state if there would be restrictions for individuals with multiple naira denominated cards from different banks.

CBN to publish names of ‘chronic’ bank debtors, slash debit cardholders’ spending abroad

Friday, April 10, 2015

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday expressed deep concerns about the growing amount of Non-Performing Loans in the books of Deposit Money Banks and said it would publish the names of chronic debtors.

The Director, Banking Supervision, CBN, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins, who stated this at a press briefing after the 321st meeting of the Bankers’ Committee in Lagos, said the central bank, in collaboration with the committee, had also decided to stop the serial debtors from buying foreign currencies at the official interbank foreign exchange market.

Also to be stopped from buying foreign currencies, according to her, are members of the board of directors of debtor companies as well as their subsidiary firms.

According to PUNCH, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins recalled that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had spent a fortune to buy toxic assets from the banks’ books in the past and that it was important to stage timely interventions to forestall a repeat of past mistakes.

Martins said:

“So, it was decided that going forward, one thing that we will do is to stop them (chronic debtors) from getting access to foreign exchange. Another thing that we also considered doing is to publish the names of the borrowers that refuse to pay up. This is to ensure the continuous safety and soundness of the banking industry. 

It is not all debtors, it is the bad and chronic debtors; those ones that have deliberately refused to pay; those are the ones we are talking about. Now, in the industry we have a standard, we don’t want the NPLs to be more than five per cent of the total loan in the industry. 

The total loan in the industry is in the region of N13tn to N15tn. Right now, we have not reached the upper limit of five per cent, but we don’t want to get there. That is why we decided that we need to come out with this measure. Currently, the industry average of non-performing loans is at 3.3 per cent and we don’t want to get to five per cent; that is why we came up with this measure.”

She said the CBN, in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, had laboured to keep the banking industry safe and sound, and that there was a need to ensure the continued safety of the banks.

…to slash debit cardholders’ spending overseas:

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank Plc, Mr. Emeka Emuwa, said the amount spent by naira debit cardholders overseas was rising fast and the banks were beginning to notice some arbitrate in the segment.

Consequently, the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee will slash the annual allowable drawdown for each bank customer, according to him.

The current annual allowable drawdown is $150,000 per customer but Emuwa did not specify the amount it would be slashed to.

He said:

“We did find that in a number of cases, people were using the cards in manners that were not expected of them and there have been some arbitraging going on. So, in order to sustain stability, what was agreed by the committee was that the limits for the use of the naira debit cards would be reduced. 

As a customer, if you have a dollar account, you will still have unfettered access to it; but for naira debit accounts, the limits will be reduced to more judicious levels. This specifically refers to the use of these banks’ products abroad, because when they are used abroad, the merchants have to be settled. 

Even if it is the Automated Teller Machines, the service provider, Visa or MasterCard has to be settled in foreign currencies and we find that it is a drain on the foreign resources available to finance our industries. So, there is going to be a reduction in the annual allowable drawdown using naira debit cards abroad.”

The Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, Mrs. Bola Adesola, said the foreign exchange market was safe and sound, and was already moving towards a near convergence of rates in the various segments.

This, she said, was as a result of the positive actions taken in the past by the central bank and the committee.

“As you are all aware, in the last couple of months, several methods have been taken by the CBN and the banks to try and attain some stability in the foreign exchange market. This has been achieved because the demand for foreign currencies by businesses has been continually met. All genuine demands for foreign currencies have been met by the CBN,” Adesola said.

Dollar falls! Naira now N185 to $1

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Bureau De Change operators in the country have attributed the fall in the Dollar to release of the foreign currency by hoarders who had stored it pending the outcome of the nation’s general elections.

A dollar over the weekend sold for N185 against the usual N220-N240 which it sold for in the last few weeks. Some of them however said the Dollar crash could also be attributed to the fact that politicians have stopped campaigning for elections, which has made the demand for the currency drop.

I will sell the state owned jet on my first day in office – Tonye Princewill

Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Rivers State Labour Party Gubernatorial candidate, Prince Tonye Princewill has restated his intention to sell the Rivers State owned jet once he assumes office as the Governor of the State. He resounded this during a radio interview this morning. According to him, a state governor has no business owning a private jet when pensioners and civil servants haven’t been paid.

“The Rivers State Governor is supposed to be here in Rivers State doing the Business of Rivers State” he said. He emphasized on the fact that a jet will do the economy no good but motivate excessive travelling and thereby encourage distractions to governance.

Corps members to receive N500 daily feeding allowance

Thursday, October 23, 2014

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that corp members will now receive N500 daily feeding allowance.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Johnson Bamidele 
Olawumi made this known during the House of Representatives committee hearing on the N4,000 compulsory online registration fee for all corp members.

Dana emerges as one of Nigeria’s top 50 brands

Dana has been listed as one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria following its immense contribution to the nation’s economy. The emergence of Dana as one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria follows the outcome of the research findings and evaluation of notable brands by BrandNigeria Journal.

The coordinator of the Top 50 Brands in Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oluboyede noted that as Nigeria becomes a haven for foreign direct investment, there is need for verifiable information about the top players in the economy to be made available. He said that operating in the world stage requires a new line of thinking as well as means of communication and engagement and the Top 50 Brands in Nigeria has created a platform for companies to proactively engage their target market for feedback.

Samuel Ogbogoro, Head, Corporate Communications of Dana said that Dana is committed to service as all the activities of all the companies within the group are geared towards improving the well-being of the populace. “We are happy to be so recognized as one of the top brands in Nigeria and our strategy is to continuously reinvest in the economy”.

Dana Group a has diverse range of strategically positioned subsidiaries that give the group the flexibility and versatility to keep ahead of local competition. With interest spanning across different sectors of the economy such as automobile, steel, FMCG, pharmaceutical, aviation, as well as properties and shipping services; the group continues to contribute to the national economy as well as providing direct and indirect employment opportunities.

The unveiling of the Top 50 Brands attracted top industry players and representatives of the various brands.

FG spends N130b on Boko Haram –Okonjo-Iweala

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Federal Government yesterday said that it has so far released the sum of N130.7 billion of the 2014 bugdet to the military between January and April, this year.

Out of this amount, N86.9 billion is for personnel cost.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja, Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the military is not captured in the Integrate Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and so the Federal Government disburses the money to them and they pay their salaries.

However, the Minister noted that the military needed an additional N24.8 billion which would be sourced from the president’s contingent funds.

“There were also other requirements they needed and we used Mr President contingent, we are for them as they needed extra N24.8 billion for their additional spending apart from their budgets. We are still processing it,” she said.

Also, the minister said that the late signing of the budget has not hampered the running of the economy because   Section 84 of the Constitution enables government to continue the implementation.

According to her, the constitution empowers the government to spend up to 50 per cent of the budget.

“The late signing has not hampered the running of the economy because what we have in Section 84 of the constitution enables us to continue implementation based on the unsigned budget where we can continue spending up to 50 per cent.  So, we have been able to continue running the country as a result of that. So, the effect of the delayed signing has remained minimal,” she noted.

Explaining the critical policies of the budget, the minister noted:  “On the housing sector, the mortgage refinancing within the economy is designed to support greater liquidity and we have been working so hard to put in place all relevant institutional framework and policies that will support and kick off additional mortgage refinancing in the economy.

In his remarks, the Director General, Budget Office, Dr Bright Okogu, said that said that the approved Medium Term Expenditure framework   has the benchmark of $77.5 per barrel in the 2014 budget while in 2013, it was $79 per barrel.

“Crude oil production was put at 2.388 million barrels per day compared to 2013 which was 2.53 million barrels per day. The production target for 2014 is a bit lower.

Exchange rate was maintained at N160/$US in 2014 same as we had in 2013.

Growth of real GDP is 6.75 per cent in 2014. Aggregate revenue for the entire federation for the three tiers of government before sharing formula will be applied

For 2014, we had aggregate revenue of N10.88 trillion with respect to what everybody will expect.  The share for the Federal government out of this, amounts to N3.73 trillion.

On the expenditure side, the 2014 as passed by the National Assembly comes with a total figure of N4.695 trillion.

In addition, SURE-P has N268.37 billion set aside for the issues relating to SURE-P activities. If you take these two together, it comes to N4.964 trillion in 2014 budget

Nigeria is a top investment destination for investors – US Secretary of Commerce

Friday, May 23, 2014

Ms. Penny Pritzker, the United States Secretary of Commerce has said that Nigeria now tops the list of the investment destination for American investors due to its unique positioning on the African continent. She said this at a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, in Lagos yesterday. Some of the key US companies that had committed billions of dollars to the Nigerian economy are the global Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FCMG) company, Procter & Gamble, which recently opened a multi-billion naira factory in Agbara, Ogun State, as well as the world leading engineer company, GE, which is currently investing billions of Naira in an engineering factory in Cross River State. Aganga, speaking at the event yesterday, announced that Nigeria and the US had signed a $480 million power project to boost efficiency in the transmission and distribution of electricity in the country. Aganga explained that the partnership was a clear indication that the US was keen on playing a critical role in the nation’s National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), stressing the need to increase investment flow into Nigeria from the world power. “We have agreed to partner US on a sectoral basis. To organise an investment forum in US where we would discuss areas of investment opportunities. Nigeria has been the first trading partner with the US in sub-Saharan Africa where we have supplied more than 12 per cent of their energy needs in terms of crude oil which accounted for more than 45 percent of our daily production,” he said. According to him, there is also the need for Nigeria to start moving away from just exporting its raw materials but developing and creating value in the oil and gas industry value chain. “Before now, oil export to the US was about $34 billion, but today, it has come down because America is planning to be self-sufficient in terms of energy, but we want to do top quality trade with America not just based on raw materials only,” he added. “We have had a productive meeting because this meeting marks the beginning of developing a stronger strategic partnership with the US,” the minister said. He stated that with the signing of the $480 million power project, he was convinced that the US was keen on partnering Nigeria to boost the nation’s power sector. He said as a result of this, the US Export Import bank had already allocated about $1.5 billion for American businesses interested in investing in Nigeria’s power sector. Pritzker, who led a delegation of about 25 US investors (mainly in the power sector) to Nigeria, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for initiating the NIRP, noting that American companies would leverage on it to invest in Africa’s biggest economy.

#AmericaWillKnow: Mr President may have gotten a trademark

Monday, May 05, 2014

Yesterday, May 4, 2014, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria engaged some journalists in a media chat. Questions were fielded and answers were given too, but what has 'thrilled' most is the answer given by Mr President on the reportedly missing $20bn oil money ("If you steal $20bn dollars, America will know and will tell you how you have moved the money because $20bn is a lot of money).

Since that response #AmericaWillKnow has been trending on social networking site, Twitter. But that's not the case...

We all know how industrious Nigerians are? Yes?

Soon #AmericaWillKnow T-shirts will hit stores near you!

"Give Nigerians Food Not A Rebased GDP!" – Soyombo Ayomikun

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Our stomachs hurt
Bleeding from the wounds of ulcer
Ulcer from prolonged hunger
As our sweats yield only pennies that can’t feed a cat
Whatever GDP means
Nigerians’ brains at the moment cannot comprehend

Please give us food
Before hunger deals the final blow
Malnutrition still roars around
Killing our children without pity
All because of a recalcitrant poverty
Plastered on our foreheads as tattoos from hell’s laser beam
Our limbs are tired
From carrying bodies deprived of nutrients

Please give us food
Before hunger deals the final blow
We’ve become faceless in our land
We’ve become homeless in our yard
You keep telling us that we’re the leaders of tomorrow
Trying to preach to us that ‘surulere’
We don’t even want to debate that again
We’ve got little energy left to argue
Please just give us a living
Before hunger deals the final blow
What’s the use of being Africa’s largest economy
When close to 70% of us are living in penury
How can we call ourselves the best
When our children roam the streets without common slippers
Our zygoma prominences lack beautiful flesh
Making us look like vampires each time we smile

Please give this vast land food
Before hunger deals the final blow
When we finally reach the top
We won’t have to blow our horns
We won’t have to be dancing around nations
Proclaiming ourselves the very best
Nations will swim to our shores
All to behold the wonders we are wroughting

For now just give Nigeria food
Before hunger deals the final blow
Ease the pains in the land
Let us see you sweat that we may live
We really don’t want a lot
A meaningful life will make us smile
Make Nigerians feel loved again
Help them forget hunger & bombs
Then we’ll scramble to understand the ‘person’ you’re calling ‘GDP’
Then Nigerians will labour to see ‘GDP’ become really fat

Soyombo Ayomikun tweets from @alabaster85