CBN Yet To Release Old Notes To Banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is yet to release the old N1000 and N500 notes it mopped out of circulation, hours after giving directives on the old notes.

Recall that the apex bank on Monday directed that the old notes remain legal tender till the 31st of December, 2023.

According to Daily Trust, CBN is yet to release the old notes despite asking commercial banks to commence their recirculation.

This is amid the struggle by commercial banks to meet the demand of customers who storm their branches across the country.

Traders, students and others that visited banks in search of money told the platform that they were unable to withdraw the amounts they wanted.

They claimed that they were only given between N5,000 and N10,000 while a few others managed to get N20,000.

A senior management staff of Guarantee Trust Bank speaking on the circulation of the old note said: “We are not receiving any old cash from the CBN. I have a substantial stock of the old notes and that is what we are recirculating as of today.”

The source explained that most commercial banks had retained the old notes in the days leading up to the February 10 deadline, before the Supreme Court order truncated the initial timeline by the CBN.

He noted, “We had that cash with us, and when the CBN became overwhelmed with those rushing to beat the deadline, they also directed them to the commercial banks, so we have that stock too. That is the reserve that we have built up.”

A management staff of Polaris Bank who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity said, “We have not received the old notes largely because we have not finished dispensing our old naira stock.

“The instruction we have is to dispense every note at our disposal. We will get a clear understanding of things when we exhaust what we have.”

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